Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: March 28, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-004149
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Millcroft Greens Corporation Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to make a decision with respect to a requested amendment Description: to permit the redevelopment of parts of a golf course to construct a total of 90 single family units and 130 apartment units in five areas Reference Number: 505-07/20 Property Address: 2155 Country Club Drive and 4274 Dundas Street Municipality/UT: Burlington/Halton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004149 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004149 OLT Case Name: Millcroft Greens Corporation v. Burlington (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Millcroft Greens Corporation Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or failure to make a decision Description: to permit the redevelopment of parts of a golf course to permit a total of 90 single family units in five areas Reference Number: 520-07/20 Property Address: 2155 Country Club Drive and 4274 Dundas Street Municipality/UT: Burlington/Halton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004150 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004149
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Millcroft Greens Corporation Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision – Failure of Approval Authority to make a decision with respect to permitting the redevelopment of parts of a golf course Description: to permit the redevelopment of parts of a golf course to permit a total of 90 single family units in five areas Reference Number: 510-02/20 Property Address: 2155 Country Club Drive and 4274 Dundas Street Municipality/UT: Burlington/Halton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004151 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004149
Heard: March 7, 2023, by video conference
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Millcroft Green Corporation (Appellant) | Patrick Harrington, Meaghan Barrett |
| City of Burlington | Isaac Tang, Brett Davis |
| Region of Halton | Kelly Yerxa, Brittany Maione, Klaudia Grabkowska (articling student) |
| Halton Conservation Authority | Konstantine Stavrakos |
| Millcroft Coalition Against Bad Development | Chantal de Sereville |
| Millcroft Greenspace Alliance | Daintry Klein |
DECISION DELIVERED BY JENNIFER GOLD AND SHARYN VINCENT ON MARCH 7th, 2023, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This decision follows the second case management conference convened to consider the appeals brought by Millcroft Greens Corporation against the failure of the City of Burlington (“City”) Council to consider and make decisions with respect to requests to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law and approve a proposed plan of subdivision for lands known municipally as 2155 Country Club Drive and 4274 Dundas Street, in order to permit the redevelopment of parts of a golf course to construct a total of 90 single family units and 130 apartments.
2A draft Procedural Order, complete with draft issues, was submitted for the consideration of the Tribunal. The Tribunal directed the parties to revise the Issues List so that it is organized by issue rather than by party. This revised organization will bring focus and direction to a lengthy hearing of these appeals and avoid overlap in the presentation of evidence.
3The participants and added parties, Millcroft Coalition Against Bad Development and Millcroft Greenspace Alliance, were advised to avoid the repetition of evidence when presenting their views at the hearing of these appeals as repetition does not improve the merit and persuasiveness of the submission. The Tribunal requests cogent and concise submissions. The submissions should draw upon the resources of the respective party and be co-ordinated as a comprehensive group submission.
4While the Appellant, Millcroft Greens Corporation, is amenable to mediation, all parties were agreeable to setting this matter down for a hearing. Counsel, Mr. Tang, representing the City of Burlington, advised that he has received direction from Council to oppose the application except for Area E, where the direction from Council is to continue discussions with a view to perfecting that aspect of the proposal. Ms. Barrett had presented mapping from the Beacon Environmental Report showing Areas A, B, C, D, and E in order to illustrate that in fact, the five parcels are not contiguous and will warrant evidence consistent with their context. The Tribunal directed that the mapping, or something akin, illustrating the contextual location for each of the five parcels, be included and referenced where appropriate, to guide the reorganized Issues List. Mr. Tang undertook to provide the Council minutes to the Tribunal regarding Area E.
5Each party plans to call between four and six witnesses as indicated below:
| Party | Number of Witnesses | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Millcroft Greens Corporation | 5-6 experts | Planning, urban design, engineering, storm water management, transportation, natural heritage |
| City of Burlington | 5 experts | Planning, environmental planning, ecology, water service, engineering |
| Region of Halton | 5 experts | Planning, regional natural heritage, servicing, waste management, good management |
| Conservation Halton | 4 experts | Planning, environmental planning, ecology, water service, engineering |
| Millcroft Coalition Against Bad Development | 4 (2 expert witnesses and 2 lay witnesses) | Planning, storm water management |
| Millcroft Greenspace Alliance | 3-4 (1 expert witness and several lay witnesses) | Environmental planning (but still building their case) |
6The Appellant raised the concern that Participants were bypassing the involvement prescribed to Participants by legislation, by becoming a lay witness at the hearing. The Tribunal informed the parties calling lay witnesses that such witnesses will be subject to the full rigour of cross-examination and that if an individual is a lay witness, he or she will be required to relinquish their Participant Status.
7Accordingly, a 19-day hearing was scheduled commencing at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, running to March 29th, 2023.
8Parties 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.
9The CMC is scheduled to proceed by video as follows:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/719383509
Access Code: 719-383-509
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 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373. The Access Code is as indicated above.
11Parties 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
12Individuals 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.
ORDER
13The appeals brought by Millcroft Greens Corporation are scheduled for a merit hearing as set out above.
14No further notice is required.
15A revised issues list shall be submitted to the Tribunal by April 3, 2023.
16The Members are not seized but may assist in case management should issues arise in the implementation of this Order.
“Jennifer Gold”
JENNIFER GOLD MEMBER
“Sharyn Vincent”
SHARYN VINCENT VICE-CHAIR
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.