Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: May 29, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-21-001718
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant and Appellant: Concord Adex Investment Limited
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan - Failure of the City of Toronto to adopt the requested amendment
Existing Designation: Avenues and Mixed Used Areas
Proposed Designated: Site Specific (To be determined)
Purpose: To permit a mixed-use development with a 25-storey office tower and a 22-storey residential tower
Property Address/Description: 1181 Sheppard Avenue East
Municipality: City of Toronto
Approval Authority File No.: 19 264391NNY17 OZ
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001718
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001718
OLT Case Name: Concord Adex Investment Limited v. Toronto (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant and Appellant: Concord Adex Investment Limited
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 7625 - Refusal or neglect of the City of Toronto to make a decision
Existing Designation: General Commercial (C1)(111)(H) in the former City of North York Zoning Bylaw 7625
Proposed Designated: Site Specific (To be determined)
Purpose: To permit a mixed-use development with a 25-storey office tower and a 22-storey residential tower
Property Address/Description: 1181 Sheppard Avenue East
Municipality: City of Toronto
Approval Authority File No.: 19 264391NNY17 OZ
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001719
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001718
Heard: February 13, 2023 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Concord Adex Investments Limited
Mark Flowers
Samantha Lampert
City of Toronto
Sarah O’Connor
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. MANN ON FEBRUARY 13, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the second Case Management Conference (“CMC”) concerning Concord Adex Investments Limited’s (“Applicant”) appeals against the City of Toronto’s (“City”) for failure to decide on an Official Plan Amendment pursuant to s. 22(7) and a Zoning By-law Amendment pursuant to s. 34(11) of the Planning Act. The subject property is municipally known as 1181 Sheppard Avenue East, in the City. The purpose of this CMC was to act as a status update for the Tribunal.
2The application proposes to amend the Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan Map 9-2 and the former City of North York Zoning By-law No.7652 and Zoning By-law 1094-2002, as amended by Zoning By-law 961-2009, to permit a mixed- use development comprising a 25-storey tower office space and a 22-storey residential tower connected by a shared five-storey base building for retail.
3The proposal has been revised in April 2021 and the Applicant has notified the Tribunal of its intention to further revise the proposal. The further revision is intended to convert both towers to residential with the five-storey base building for office and retail.
STATUS UPDATE
4At the first CMC, concerns were raised whether or not Metrolinx had been given proper notice for this matter and it was decided that this CMC would provide the opportunity to request status, should Metrolinx desire. As a result of no appearance by a representative of Metrolinx, no status request was received by the Tribunal.
5Regarding the revision of the proposal, the Applicant informed the Tribunal of their intention to submit by the end of February 2023. The City confirmed that they had been updated on the Applicant’s revised proposal through communication. One week prior to this hearing, the Applicant submitted to the City, revised plans with the revised proposal and informed the Tribunal they will complete the revised submission by submitting finalized report by the end of February 2023.
6The Applicant informed the Tribunal that they had submitted a site plan application regarding the proposed development, which they intend to appeal as well. Both Parties have agreed to consolidate the further appeal with this matter. As the appeal has yet to be filed, a further CMC was scheduled in order to consolidate matters at a later date.
7Regarding the Procedural Order (“PO”) and Issues List, the Parties have submitted a revised draft PO with no Issues List. The position of Parties is that an Issues List cannot be generated without the submission of the revised proposal. The PO provides that the Applicant must submit any revised proposal on or before May 19, 2023.
8A second CMC was scheduled for June 29, 2023, in order to consolidate the site plan appeal with this matter and to finalize the PO. This timeline is necessary in order to provide the City time to receive instruction. Counsel for the City remarked that should the submission of the revised proposal dates not be met, there may be difficulty accommodating the October 2, 2023, to October 13, 2023 hearing dates.
Mediation
9There are no plans for a third party or Tribunal led mediation as it is premature to do so before the City has had an opportunity to review the revised application submissions. The application’s revisions will permit the City and the Applicant to hopefully make progress towards a resolution.
DISPOSITION
10The Tribunal will schedule a status CMC for June 29, 2023. Parties will update the Tribunal on the status of discussions and finalize the PO at the CMC, as well consolidate the site plan appeal with this matter.
11The Tribunal directs that the Parties submit a PO with the deadlines filled in and an Issues List to the Case Coordinator two weeks before the CMC.
HEARING DETAILS
12A CMC is scheduled to commence on Monday, June 29, 2023, by video hearing at 10 a.m. as follows:
GoTo Conference Link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/638422541
Audio-Only Line: 1-888-299-1889 (Toll Free) OR +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 638-422-541
13Parties 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:
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, provided above.
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.
ORDER
17The Tribunal Orders that:
a) A Case Management Conference will commence at 10 a.m. by video hearing on Thursday, June 29, 2023.
18No further notice will be given.
19The Member is not seized.
“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.