Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
March 28, 2023
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-22-004754
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant:
Bradford Capital Holdings Inc.
Subject:
Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description:
To facilitate the development of two single detached dwellings and fifteen townhouse dwellings
Reference Number:
D14 -19 -16
Property Address:
Block 403, & 402 on Plan 51M - 1063
Municipality/Upper Tier:
Township of Bradford West Gwillimbury/ County of Simcoe
OLT Case No.:
OLT-22-004754
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-22-004754
OLT Case Name:
Bradford Capital Holdings Inc. v. Bradford West Gwillimbury (Town)
Heard:
March 21, 2023 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Bradford Capital Holdings Inc.
John Alati
Samantha Lampert (in absentia)
Bradford West Gwillimbury (“Town”)
Leo Longo
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY ERIC S. CROWE AND GREGORY J. INGRAM ON MARCH 21, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1The Tribunal convened a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) on an appeal filed by Bradford Capital Holdings Inc. (“Applicants/Appellants”) against the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury (“Town”) regarding Council’s non-decision of an application for an amendment to Zoning By-law No. 2010-050 (“ZBL”) concerning Block 403 and 402 on Plan 51 M -1063 (“Subject Lands”).
2The purpose of the Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBLA”) is to amend the ZBL to permit development of two (2) single detached dwellings and three (3) townhouse buildings containing fifteen (15) free hold street townhouse dwellings for a total number of seventeen (17) residential units.
3The Subject Lands are composed of two (2) non-addressed vacant properties situated adjacent to, and on the south side of Line 6. The properties are situated on both the east and west sides of Inverness Drive.
BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF THE APPLICATION
4On October 10, 2019, the Applicant/Appellant submitted an application for a ZBLA to the Town to rezone the Subject Lands and an additional Block for residential uses. More specifically, the application would facilitate the development of two single-detached dwelling units within Block 402 and fifteen townhouse dwellings within Block 403. By letter dated October 24, 2019, the Application was deemed complete on October 23, 2019.
5A Public Information Meeting was held by the Town on December 17, 2019. Following the Public Information Meeting, the Applicant/Appellant requested that the Town finalize the processing of the Application only as it related to Block 402, while reserving its decision related to Block 403. Town Council approved the Application as it related to Block 402 on August 4, 2020.
6Through the processing of the Application, concerns were raised by Town Staff and the public with respect to the proposed residential uses and lack of commercial uses on Block 403. In response to these concerns, in December 2021, the Applicant/Appellant submitted an Updated Retail Market Study dated August 2021, which concluded that commercial uses on Block 403 would not be viable. A revised draft ZBLA pertaining only to the Block 403 was also submitted in December 2021.
7Town Council failed to make a decision on the requested ZBLA within 90 days of the Application being submitted. Subsequently, the Applicant/Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal on November 23, 2022.
PROPOSED ZONING
8The proposed ZBLA would change the zoning of Block 402, Registered Plan 51M-1063, from the “Future Development (FD)” zone to the site specific “Residential One Exception 10 (R1-1*10)” zone to provide relief from existing zoning provisions to enable the development of two (2) single detached dwelling units fronting onto the east side of Inverness Drive.
9The requested “Residential One Exception 10 (R1-1*10)” site specific zone proposes to provide the following relief from the existing regulations of Comprehensive ZBL 2010- 050:
Minimum Lot Area: Required, 510 m2: Requested: 500 m2
Minimum Required Front Yard Setback: Required, 3.0 m: Requested: 2.5 m
Minimum Required Rear Yard Setback: Required, 7.5 m: Requested: 3.0 m
Maximum Height: Permitted, 11.0 m: Requested: 13 m
Setback of a Parking Space in a Rear or Side Yard: Required, 1.0 m: Requested: 0.5m
Minimum Driveway Setback from side lot line: Required, .6 metres (“m”): Requested: .5 m
Further to the above, the proposed text for the “Residential One Exception 10 (R1-1*10)” zone also includes a site-specific definition for what constitutes a front lot line. The purpose of the special site-specific front-line definition is to ensure that the lot line separating the lot from the Inverness Drive frontage is considered the front lot line.
10The Applicant/Appellant proposes to change the zoning of Block 403, Registered Plan 51M-1063, from the “Neighbourhood Commercial (C2)” zone to the “Residential Two Exception 5 (R2-2*5)” zone to permit the development of 15 street townhouse dwelling units. The Exception 5 Zone is the same exception zone governing the existing townhouse development immediately adjacent to the subject site on Fortis Drive in the Subdivision, and the specific exception permits a townhouse height of 13 m instead of the standard 11.0 m height of the standard R2-2 zone.
11The sworn Affidavit of Service related to Notice was marked as Exhibit 1.
PARTY/PARTICIPANT STATUS REQUEST
12In response to the Notice, the Tribunal received no written requests for Party or Participant status at that time.
HEARING
13John Alati, Counsel for the Applicant/Appellant, provided background to the application. He advised there have been continued discussions with the Town concerning the Draft Procedural Order (“DPO”) and Issues List (IL). Mr. Alati noted that he was advised a Town Council meeting was being held tonight (March 21, 2023) to discuss the appeal so the Parties would be seeking a second CMC preferably in May. It was suggested that outcomes from the Town Council meeting, will determine future negotiations and possible settlement.
14Leo Longo, Counsel for the Town, confirmed Town Council have a meeting scheduled tonight where they will be receiving an update of this appeal. Mr. Longo agrees with scheduling a second CMC to allow for Town Council’s direction on this appeal and to have future discussions with the Applicant/Appellant.
MEDIATION
15The Parties advised that they are open to settlement discussions. The Parties indicated that they are aware of the availability of Tribunal-led mediation. Parties also advised that they are aware that they may request this mediation at their convenience.
HEARING DATES
16The Tribunal directs that a second CMC will be held by video hearing commencing on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10 a.m.
17Parties 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:
GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/709076365
Access code: 709-076-365
18Parties 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
19Persons 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) 497-9397 or (Toll-Free) 1(888) 299-1889. The access code is: 709-076-365.
20Individuals 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.
21No further notice will be given.
THE FINALIZATION OF A PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
22The Parties requested further time to provide a DPO including the Issues List with all dates to be included in the Draft Order.
23The Tribunal allowed the Parties to submit to the Tribunal the Draft of the Procedural Order including the Issues List on or before Friday, May 19, 2023.
24The Tribunal Members are not seized and may be spoken to for case management purposes subject to the availability of the Tribunal’s calendar.
25The directions in this Decision are so ordered.
“Eric S. Crowe”
ERIC S. CROWE
MEMBER
“Gregory J. Ingram”
GREGORY J. INGRAM
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.