Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: March 02, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-004688
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Royal Mimico Developments Limited
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit development of two towers of 37 and 23 stories having 824 units
Property Address: 266-268 Royal York Road
Municipality: City of Toronto
Reference Number: 21 236250 WET 03 OZ
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-004688
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-004688
OLT Case Name: Royal Mimico Developments Limited v. City of Toronto
Heard: February 22, 2023 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel/Representative* |
|---|---|
| Royal Mimico Developments Limited (“Applicant/Appellant”) | Matthew Lakatos-Hayward, David Bronskill (in absentia) |
| City of Toronto | Nathan Muscat |
| Heather and Hubert Walsh | John Znaczko* |
DECISION DELIVERED BY N. EISAZADEH AND D. CHIPMAN AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held as a video hearing for the appeal of Royal Mimico Developments Limited (the “Applicant/Appellant”). The Appellant filed a development application for Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBLA”) on lands municipally known as 266 and 268 Royal York Road (“Subject Lands”) located in the City of Toronto (“City”). The City did not deal with the applications within the statutory time period, hence the Appellant appealed pursuant to s. 34(11) of the Planning Act (“Act”).
2The ZBLA application is to permit a mixed-use development consisting of two mixed-use buildings of 37-storey and 23-storey towers, a 3 level below grade parking garage as an initial phase, a multi-storey self-storage building as a future phase, and a 1,394 square metre (“m2”) public park.
3The Application proposes a total gross floor area of 51,726 m2 in its first phase consisting of 824 residential units, comprising 613 studio/one-bedroom units (74.4%), 167 two-bedroom units (20.3%) and 44 three-bedroom units (5.3%), with 635 m2 of retail space at-grade along its Royal York Road frontage. A total of 200 vehicular parking spaces, 619 bicycle spaces, and two loading spaces are proposed.
NOTICE
4The Tribunal received a sworn Affidavit of Service dated January 23, 2023, confirming that Notice of this CMC was properly given. The sworn Affidavit of Service, along with Notice of CMC dated January 6, 2023, were marked as Exhibit 1.
PARTY STATUS AND PARTICIPANT STATUS REQUESTS
5A Party Status Request was received from Heather and Hubert Walsh, whose property is municipally located at 286 Royal York Road, immediately abutting the Subject Land. Mr. and Ms. Walsh’s representative, John Znaczko, submitted that it was a single Party Status that was being requested on their behalf collectively. Neither the Appellant nor the City opposed this request for Party Status. The Tribunal found that there are reasonable grounds for adding Mr. and Ms. Walsh as a Party and granted them single Party Status as requested.
6There was no other request for status at this CMC.
MEDIATION
7The Parties indicated they were receptive to seeking Tribunal-led or private mediation. The Parties all agreed that they will engage in discussions in efforts to reduce the issues in dispute and identify whether mediation will assist. The Tribunal noted that Tribunal-led mediation information can be obtained through the Case Coordinator.
NEXT STEPS
8The Appellant’s representative, Matthew Lakatos-Hayward, advised that a separate appeal for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) with respect to the proposed development and Subject Land had been filed on February 16, 2023. While the OPA matter has not yet been assigned a Tribunal file number or hearing event date, the Appellant submitted that it was the intention of the Parties to convene a second CMC that would allow the Parties, and the Tribunal, to consider having the two matters consolidated or heard together. The City and the Walsh’s were in agreement.
9A second CMC was granted for the Parties to update the Tribunal on the status of this matter, to further narrow any issues and to encompass the OPA submission and potential consolidation/hearing together of the separate matters in setting hearing dates.
10The Tribunal directed that the Procedural Order (“PO”) with the essential timelines filled in to be forwarded to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator ten days prior to the next CMC.
11The Panel directed that Mr. Lakatos-Hayward coordinate the PO and Issues List, based on both the ZBA and OPA submissions, to be presented for consideration at the next CMC. The Tribunal will ensure the Case Coordinator will compile the Tribunal file to include both the ZBA request, as per this case number, and the OPA submission, once it has been assigned a case number, for consideration at the next CMC.
12The second CMC will be held on Friday, June 16, 2023, at 10 a.m.
13Parties 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:
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/519389173
Access Code: 519-389-173
14Parties 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 at: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
15Persons 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: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The Access Code is 519-389-173.
16Individuals 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.
17There will be no further notice.
18This Panel is not seized but remains available through the Case Coordinator should the need arise.
ORDER
19The Tribunal Orders its directions and rulings on Party Status as set out above.
“N. Eisazadeh”
N. Eisazadeh MEMBER
“D. Chipman”
D. CHIPMAN 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.