Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: December 15, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000883
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: 2728839 Ontario Limited Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Refusal of request Description: To permit the construction of a manufacturing and fabricating farm related industrial facility Reference Number: 0/01/23 Property Address: 4632 County Road 50 Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe OLT Case No: OLT-23-000883 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000883 OLT Case Name: 2728839 Ontario Limited v. Adjala-Tosorontio (Township)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: 2728839 Ontario Limited Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal of application Description: To permit the construction of a manufacturing and fabricating farm related industrial facility Reference Number: Z/14/23 Property Address: 4632 County Road 50 Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe OLT Case No: OLT-23-000884 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000883
Heard: December 7, 2023 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| 2728839 Ontario Limited | R. Cheeseman, S. A. Fleming |
| Township of Adjala-Tosorontio | J. Feehely |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY STEVEN T. MASTORAS ON DECEMBER 7, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1The matter before the Tribunal is a first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) relating to an Appeal pursuant to s. 22(7) and s. 34(11) of the Planning Act from the refusal of the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio (“Township”) to allow an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment respectively, (the “Applications”).
2The Appeal has been filed by 2728839 Ontario Limited (“Appellant”). The purpose of the Applications is to facilitate the construction of a manufacturing and fabricating farm-related industrial facility within the Agricultural (“A”) Zone, located at 4632 County Road 50.
3The Township Planning Staff support the Applications.
4The Tribunal was in receipt of a sworn Affidavit of Service dated on October 19, 2023, by Darlene Hornsby, confirming that Notice of this CMC was properly circulated and is marked as Exhibit 1.
STATUS REQUESTS, PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
5There were no other requests for Party or Participant status.
6The Parties provided a draft Procedural Order (“PO”) and Issues List (“IL”) on consent prior to the CMC, for the Tribunal’s consideration and approval. The Tribunal accepts the PO/IL and directs that a Hearing date is to be scheduled in early 2024.
7After careful consideration of the Parties’ respective schedules, and the expectation that a total of five witnesses may provide testimony at the Hearing, the Tribunal has scheduled a three-day (3) Hearing on the Merits of the Appeal commencing on Monday, March 25, 2024, to Wednesday, March 27, 2024, by Video Hearing at 10 a.m.
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/909787981
Access Code: 909-787-981
8Parties are asked to log into the Video Hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections.
9Parties are asked to access and set up the application well in advance of the event to avoid unnecessary delay. The desktop application can be downloaded at GoToMeeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
10Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting Application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line: Toll-Free: 1-888-455-1389 or +1 (647) 497-9391. The Access Code is as indicated above.
11Individuals are directed to connect to the event on the assigned date at the correct time. It is the responsibility of the persons participating in the Hearing by Video to ensure that they are properly connected to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the Hearing event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
12With respect to the final PO/IL, the Parties advised that they were prepared to finalize this and submit to the Case Coordinator prior to the issuance of this Decision, which has been fulfilled as of December 12, 2023.
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT
13The Tribunal raised the issue of opportunities for settlement discussions, including the use of Tribunal-assisted mediation. The Parties advised that they intend to work cooperatively to scope the IL, and apply best efforts to achieve a possible resolution of the matter.
14The Parties are directed to advise the Tribunal in writing should they reach a settlement with respect to some or all of the Issues prior to the Hearing and, should they wish to pursue Tribunal-assisted mediation, they may make a written request to the Tribunal through the Case Coordinator for those services.
ORDER
15THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that:
a) A Merit Hearing is scheduled to commence on Monday, March 25, 2024, by Video at 10 a.m. for a duration of three (3)-days.
b) The final Procedural Order and Issues List is attached as Schedule A and shall govern these proceedings.
16There will be no further notice.
17The Member is not seized on this matter.
“Steven T. Mastoras”
STEVEN T. MASTORAS
MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: www.olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248
The Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Mining and Lands Tribunal are amalgamated and continued as the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Any reference to the preceding tribunals or the former Ontario Municipal Board is deemed to be a reference to the Tribunal.
SCHEDULE A
CASE NO: OLT-23-000883
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: 2728839 Ontario Limited Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Refusal of request Description: To permit the construction of a manufacturing and fabricating farm related industrial facility Reference Number: 0/01/23 Property Address: 4632 County Road 50 Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe OLT Case No: OLT-23-000883 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000883 OLT Case Name: 2728839 Ontario Limited v. Adjala-Tosorontio (Township)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: 2728839 Ontario Limited Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal of application Description: To permit the construction of a manufacturing and fabricating farm related industrial facility Reference Number: Z/14/23 Property Address: 4632 County Road 50 Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe OLT Case No: OLT-23-000884 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000883
PROCEDURAL ORDER
- The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this procedural order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.
Organization of the Hearing
The video hearing will begin on March 25, 2024 at 10 a.m.
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 3 days. The parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.
The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3 to this Order. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, evidence in chief (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on the parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.
Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible – ideally before the case management conference. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.
Any person who intends to participate in the hearing, including parties, counsel and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website.
Requirements Before the Hearing
A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of the witnesses and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before Friday, January 26, 2024 and in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before Friday, February 9, 2024 and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. Following the experts’ meeting the parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before Friday, February 16, 2024.
An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 13 below. Instead of a witness statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.
Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an expert witness statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence as in paragraph 13 below. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in paragraph 13 below.
On or before Friday, February 23, 2024, the parties shall provide copies of their witness and expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
On or before Friday, February 23, 2024, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
On or before Monday, March 4, 2024 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before Friday, March 15, 2024, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.
Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case coordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before Friday, March 8, 2024 and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case coordinator on or before Friday, March 15, 2024.
A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.
A party who provides written evidence of a witness to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Monday, March 18, 2024 with a proposed schedule for the hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the parties participating in the hearing, the preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in chief, cross-examination and re-examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The parties are expected to ensure that the hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the hearing plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the hearing plan at any time in the course of the hearing.
All filings shall be submitted electronically and in hard copy. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests
This Member is not seized.
So orders the Tribunal.
Attachment 1
PARTIES
- 2728839 Ontario Limited
- Township of Adjala-Tosorontio
Attachment 2
Issues List
Proposed Use:
- Is the use and its intensity appropriate for the site?
- Does the use represent good planning?
- Is the use consistent with the agricultural policies of the Provincial Policy Statement (Section 2.3) including the “definitions” section and protection of the long-term use of agricultural areas (Section 2.3.1)?
- Does the use conform to the Growth Plan for an Agricultural system (Section 4.2.6)?
- Does the use conform to the County of Simcoe Official Plan for the Agricultural designation (Section 3.6)?
- Does the use conform to the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio Official Plan for the Agricultural designation (Section 4.3.3)?
Official Plan Amendment:
- Does the amendment properly characterize the use?
- Does the amendment properly limit future expansion?
Zoning By-Law Amendment:
- Does the Zoning By-Law Amendment (ZBA) appropriately limit the size and extent of the use?
- Does the ZBA properly limit the size of outdoor storage?
- Does the ZBA appropriately define the internal use of the proposed facility?
Traffic:
12, Is access to the site from the Township Road (Sideroad 30) appropriate as opposed to access to County Road 50?
Attachment 3
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
- 2728839 Ontario Limited
- Township of Adjala-Tosorontio
- 2728839 Ontario Limited, in Reply
ATTACHMENT 4
SUMMARY OF FILING DATES
| EVENT | DATE |
|---|---|
| List of Witness | Friday, January 26, 2024 |
| Expert Witness Meetings | Friday, February 9, 2024 |
| Agreed Statement of Facts & Remaining Issues | Friday, February 16, 2024 |
| Witness and Expert Witness Statements | Friday, February 23, 2024 |
| Reply Witness Statements | Friday, March 8, 2024 |
| Hearing Plan | Monday, March 18, 2024 |
| Joint Document Book | Friday, March 15, 2024 |
| Visual Evidence | Friday, March 15, 2024 |
| OLT Hearing Commences | March 25, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (3) days |