Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 25, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002710
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Appellant: Markee Developments Inc. Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit the development of 15 residential and mixed-use buildings Reference Number: 21 169802 NNY 17 OZ Property Address: 3377 Bayview Avenue Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto OLT Case No: OLT-22-002710 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002710 OLT Case Name: Markee Developments v. Toronto (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Appellant: Markee Developments Inc. Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit the development of 15 residential and mixed-use buildings Reference Number: 21 169802 NNY 17 OZ Property Address: 3377 Bayview Avenue Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto OLT Case No: OLT-22-002713 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002710
Heard: July 17, 2023
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel/Representative |
|---|---|
| Markee Developments Inc. ("Appellant") | D. Bronskill |
| City of Toronto ("City") | J. Braun |
| Bayview North Neighbourhood Association ("BWNA") | A. Heisey |
| Toronto Regional Conservation Authority ("TRCA") | B. Montgomery |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED ON JULY 17, 2023 BY WILLIAM MIDDLETON, P. TOMILIN, KURTIS SMITH AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This matter came on for a further Case Management Conference on July 17, 2023, following a late request made on July 14, 2023, for an adjournment of this hearing which had been scheduled to commence on July 17 for a period of 10 days. The background of this matter was summarized by Member Hardy in her Decision dated June 7, 2023 ("June 7 Decision") and need not be reiterated.
2The adjournment request was made jointly by the Appellant and the City and was not opposed by BWNA. TRCA took no position, and, in light of a settlement reached with the Appellant, also requested to be released from this proceeding – and the Tribunal agreed to that.
3The reason for the adjournment request was due to a Notice of Appeal of the City’s passing of By-law 438-2023 which designated the subject property located at 3377 Bayview Avenue in the City under the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O18 ("OHA Appeal"). That Notice of Appeal was suddenly delivered by BWNA on July 12, 2023, the last permissible day for doing so.
4The Appellant and the City take the position that the OHA appeal must be dealt with prior to the commencement of the already scheduled merits hearing dealing with the Appellant’s development proposals. Counsel for BWNA also agreed. The Appellant has now filed a motion to dismiss the OHA appeal.
5In light of these events, BWNA’s late breaking Notice of Appeal has now effectively secured the adjournment of this hearing despite BWNA having been unsuccessful in seeking that same relief before the Tribunal on June 1, 2023, as reflected in the June 7 Decision. Of course, counsel for BWNA submitted that this outcome was not his client’s intention.
6The Tribunal communicated its concern that this long-scheduled hearing was not going to proceed and that, inevitably, valuable hearing days would be lost. Reluctantly, in the interests of procedural fairness, the Tribunal nonetheless granted the adjournment at least until the Appellant’s motion to dismiss the OHA Appeal ("Motion to Dismiss") is heard. The Parties were not able to proceed with that motion on July 17th, as not all contemplated materials had been filed.
7After hearing submissions from the Parties, and in the interests of expediting this matter so that further hearing days would not be lost, the Tribunal directed that the Appellant’s Motion to Dismiss (case number OLT-23-000682) be argued on Thursday, July 20, 2023, commencing at 1 p.m.
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:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/765631861
Access code: 765-631-861
9Parties 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
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) 1-888-455-1389 or +1 (647) 497-9391. The access code is 765-631-861.
11Individuals 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.
12Counsel for BWNA and the Appellant have agreed to file all necessary materials for the Motion to Dismiss by 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
ORDER
13THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:
(a) The Appellant’s Motion to Dismiss the appeal of the City of Toronto By-law 438-2023 under the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O18 brought by the Bayview North Neighbourhood Association shall be heard by video conference at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 20, 2023;
(b) The video hearing details for the hearing shall be as described in paragraph [7-11] (a);
(c) The Parties shall file all materials required for the hearing described in paragraph [7-11] (a) by 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 20, 2023; and
(d) In light of the settlement reached between the Toronto Region Conservation Authority ("TRCA") and the Appellant, the TRCA is not required to further participate in this proceeding.
"William Middleton"
WILLIAM MIDDLETON VICE CHAIR
"P. Tomilin"
P. TOMILIN MEMBER
"Kurtis Smith"
KURTIS SMITH MEMBER
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.