Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: February 24, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002705
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Appellant: 333 Sheppard Avenue East Ltd.
Appellant: Double Diamond Capital Inc.
Appellant: LBS Group Ltd.
Appellant: SheppBonn Ltd.
Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment
Description: To replace the eastern segment of the existing Sheppard Avenue Commercial Area Secondary Plan
Reference Number: OPA 560
Property Address: All lands within the Sheppard Willowdale Secondary Plan
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No: OLT-22-002705
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002705
OLT Case Name: Double Diamond Capital Inc. v. Toronto (City)
Heard: October 11, 2022 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
333 Sheppard Avenue East Limited
Ira T. Kagan and Sarah Kagan
Double Diamond Capital Inc.
Samantha Lampert
LBS Group Ltd.
Sarah Turney
SheppBonn Ltd.
Isaac Tang
City of Toronto
Daniel Elmadany, Ray Kallio and Jessica Jakubowski
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. MANN ON OCTOBER 11, 2022 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) respecting an appeal by 333 Sheppard Avenue East Ltd., Double Diamond Capital Inc., LBS Group Ltd., and SheppBonn Ltd. (the “Applicants/Appellants”) regarding the City of Toronto (“City”) decision to adopt Official Plan Amendment No. 560 (“OPA 560”) amending the Sheppard Willowdale Commercial Area Secondary Plan (“Secondary Plan”).
2On January 16, 2022, the City approved the scope of study of western and eastern segments of Sheppard Avenue commercial areas with the direction to review residential and retail uses and appropriate measures for adjoining properties. The first phase of this study is already completed regarding the western portion of the Secondary Plan area. Phase 2 of the Secondary Plan is the subject of the appeals.
333 Sheppard Avenue East Limited Appeal
3333 Sheppard Avenue East Limited (“333 Limited”) are the owners of 333 Sheppard Avenue East. The property is located on the south side of Sheppard Avenue East at the extreme eastern end of OPA 560.
4333 Limited’s appeal is on the basis that the proposed amendment removes their property from the Secondary Plan area, overly restricts maximum heights and densities and imposes other built form constraints not currently applied. Their position is that OPA 560 fails to conform to the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (“PPS”) as well as the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (“Growth Plan”).
Double Diamond Capital Appeal
5Double Diamond Capital Inc. (“DD Capital”) are the owner of 280-288 Sheppard Avenue East and 293-295 Maplehurst Avenue and beneficial owners pursuant to an agreement of purchase and sale of 287 Maplehurst Avenue and 298 Sheppard Avenue East. The properties are within and adjacent to the Secondary Plan area.
6Prior to the City’s adoption of the Secondary Plan, DD Capital actively participated in the process leading up to adoption making written submissions outlining concerns with the proposed Secondary Plan on November 3, 2021.
7DD Capital proposes that the Secondary Plan area should be extended to include the totality of the properties in order to achieve land use consistency, afford the greatest opportunity for optimization of existing planned infrastructure and maximize benefits to the public realm. Further, DD Capital submits that the policies of the Secondary Plan limit height and density and place unduly restrictive and prescriptive elements that are inconsistent with the PPS and the Growth Plan.
LBS Group Ltd. Appeal
8LBS Group Ltd. (“LBS”) is the owner of 258 Sheppard Avenue East. The property is bounded by Sheppard Avenue East to the south, Willowdale Avenue to the west and Maplehurst Avenue to the north. It is located within the Secondary Plan area.
9LBS has concerns regarding competing design criteria within the Secondary Plan, particularly for the Potential New and Expanded Park location, submitting that the proposed park location at the corner of LBS’s lands would lead to design function issues, undermine the ability for future development built form to frame the street, and undermine the ability to adequately access the lands and provide other necessary design aspects of future development.
SheppBonn Ltd. Appeal
10SheppBonn Ltd. (“SheppBonn”) are the owners of 25 Bonnington Place and 87, 91, 93 and 95 Sheppard Avenue East. The properties are located at the southeast corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Bonnington Place within the Secondary Plan area.
11SheppBonn actively participated during the public consultation process over the past several years raising concerns pertaining to the North York Centre South Service Road on November 30, 2020; attending various Community Consultation and Advisory Committee Meetings, including the November 3, 2021 consultation meeting; and providing written and oral submissions to the North York Community Council on January 4, 2022 seeking modifications of the Secondary Plan.
12SheppBonn raised concerns that the Secondary Plan fails to adequately respond to Provincial policy direction that promotes efficient development and land use patterns along planned infrastructure and directs greater levels of intensification along a higher order transit corridor and subway line.
13The parties proposed that the Tribunal schedule a hearing for ten (10) days as well as a second CMC in order to finalize the Procedural Order and Issues List and address other matters including (i) confirming un-appealed portions of OPA 560, (ii) confirming the scope of appealed portions of OPA 560, and (iii) to hear settlements or resolutions (if any).
Service of Notice of CMC
14There was no issue with service of the Notice of this CMC, and so no further notice is required. The Tribunal was in receipt of the Affidavit of Service, which was marked as Exhibit 1.
Requests for Status
15The Tribunal received no requests for status prior to or during the CMC.
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT
16The Tribunal explored the possibility of mediation and settlement with the parties. All of the Appellants as well as the City confirmed that they were supportive of mediation, however it was premature at this time.
PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
17The Tribunal received and reviewed a draft Procedural Order from the parties. The parties had not included an Issues List within the Procedural Order, though informed the Tribunal that one had been circulated to the City with the exception of SheppBonn.
18All parties agreed to provide an Issues List 45 days prior to the second CMC scheduled for this matter.
HEARING
19Upon request of the parties, the Tribunal scheduled a second CMC hearing commencing on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 10 a.m. by VH. No further Notice is required for the hearing.
20Upon request of the parties, the Tribunal scheduled a ten (10) day hearing commencing on Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10 a.m. by VH. No further Notice is required for the hearing.
ORDER
21The Tribunal Orders that:
The date and particulars of the hearing and CMC are set out below:
The hearings are scheduled to proceed by video as follows:
CMC Details:
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 10 a.m. GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/519389173
Access code: 519-389-173 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or Toll Free 1-888-299-1889 Audio-only access code: 519-389-173
Hearing Details:
Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10 a.m. GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/909787981
Access code: 909-787-981 Audio-only line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or Toll Free 1-888-299-1889 Audio-only access code: 909-787-981
22Parties and participants 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.
23Parties and participants 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
24Persons 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.
25Individuals 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.
26The Member is not seized but may be spoken to through the Case Coordinator if any issues arise.
“S. Mann”
S. MANN
MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: 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.