Ontario Land Tribunal
ISSUE DATE: April 27, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-004597
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 17(36) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: 2606609 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Official Plan – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit expansion of existing Residential designation on the OP application to support the implementation of the OPA by allowing the proposed type and density of uses on the subject site
Reference Number: D35-009-2017
Property Address: 2 River Street and 50 Orchard Street
Municipality: City of Kingston
OLT Case No: OLT-22-004597
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004597
OLT Case Name: 2606609 Ontario Inc. v. Kingston (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit the subdivision of the subject lands and to develop 4 separate four to eight storey buildings totaling 1,600 units
Reference Number: D35-009-2017
Property Address: 2 River Street and 50 Orchard Street
Municipality: City of Kingston
OLT Case No: OLT-22-004598
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004597
Heard: April 5, 2023, via Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| 2606609 Ontario Inc. | R. Aburto & J. Chen |
| City of Kingston | T. Fleming |
| No Clearcuts Kingston Inc. | R.D. Lindgren & J.F. Castrilli & Z. St. Pierre (student-at-law) |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED ON APRIL 5, 2023, BY STEVEN T. MASTORAS AND STEVEN COOKE AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1The matter is before the Tribunal as a second Case Management Conference (“CMC”) related to the above-noted matter. 2606609 Ontario Inc. (“Appellant”) has filed appeals against the City of Kingston (“City”) council’s refusal of its Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) application and Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) application under s.17(36) and s. 34(11) of the Planning Act (“Act”) respectively. The property is municipally known as 2 River Street and 50 Orchard Street (“Subject Site”).
2The OPA application is required in order to expand the Subject Sites existing “Residential” designation, reduce the extent of the “Environmental Protection” designation to align with the proposed adjusted boundary of the Provincially Significant Wetland, and expand the “Open Space” designation to recognize the 30 plus metres Ribbon of Life open space parkland.
3The purpose of the ZBA application is to allow the proposed type and density of uses after the implementation of the OPA with a few areas of the subject site being rezoned to site specific provisions.
PARTICIPANTS STATUS, PROCEDURAL ORDER
4Prior to the beginning of the second CMC the Tribunal received requests for Participant status from three individuals. On the consent of all Parties the Tribunal granted the requests for Participant Status to the following individuals:
- MJ Murphy
- Pamela Cornell
- Patty (Karen) Smith
5The Parties submitted a draft Procedural Order (“DPO”) for the Tribunal to review. For the purpose of clarity in the proceedings, the Appellant on the consent of the City added language that No Clearcuts Kingston (“NCK”) would adhere to the non-appellant sheltering requirements of Rule 8.3 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedures. NCK understood the objective to include the language but raised concerns that it was not required to be repeated in the DPO. The Tribunal determined that repeating the wording was deemed redundant and unnecessary.
6The Parties proposed to the Tribunal that the DPO set two meetings of Expert Witnesses in the same field to occur. The intent of the second meeting of like experts is to:
“…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 coordinator on or before 15 days before the start of the hearing.”
7Parties were directed to submit an updated DPO on consent, that included all relevant dates, to the case coordinator on or before Friday April 28, 2023, for consideration of the Panel.
HEARING SCHEDULING
8The Parties requested that a hearing for the duration of five (5) weeks be scheduled at the discretion of the Tribunal. The Panel agreed, and scheduled the Merit hearing commencing Tuesday January 30, 2024, to Friday March 1, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. by Video Conference.
9Parties 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:
GoTo Conference Link: https://meet.goto.com/996288525
Access code: 996-288-525
10Parties 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
11Persons 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: 1 888 455 1389 (Toll Free) OR +1 (647) 497-9391. The access code is the same as mentioned above.
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.
13The Parties were also encouraged to work with the case coordinator on developing a hearing plan and use best efforts in attempting to consolidate the length of the hearing as scheduled, and keep the Tribunal advised of any changes as required.
ORDER
14THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the following persons are conferred Participant Status to the hearings:
- MJ Murphy
- Pamela Cornell
- Patty (Karen) Smith
15That as detailed starting in paragraph 8, a five-week Hearing of the Merits is schedule to begin on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.
16No further notice will be issued.
17The Panel Members are not seized of the matter.
“Steven T. Mastoras”
STEVEN T. MASTORAS
MEMBER
“Steven Cooke”
STEVEN COOKE
VICE CHAIR
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.