Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: July 31 2023

CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-004487 OLT-22-004833

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant: Bronte River Limited Partnership Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit a residential development with detached dwelling, townhouse dwellings, and a relocated heritage building Reference Number: Z.1531.03 Property Address: 1300, 1316, 1326, 1342 and 1350 Bronte Road Municipality/UT: Oakville/Halton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004487 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004487 OLT Case Name: Bronte River Limited Partnership v. Oakville (Town)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant: Bronte River Limited Partnership Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision – Failure of Approval Authority to make a decision Description: To permit a residential development with detached dwelling, townhouse dwellings, and a relocated heritage building Reference Number: 24T-21009/1531 Property Address: 1300, 1316, 1326, 1342 and 1350 Bronte Road Municipality/UT: Oakville/Halton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004488 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004487

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Eaglewood Communities Inc. Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit development of a four-storey condo having 71 units in Oakville Reference Number: OPA1531.04 Property Address: 1354 Bronte Road Municipality/UT: Town of Oakville OLT Case No.: OLT-22-004833 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-004833 OLT Case Name: Eaglewood Communities Inc. v. Oakville (Town)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Eaglewood Communities Inc. Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit development of a four-storey condo having 71 units in Oakville Reference Number: Z1531.04 Property Address: 1354 Bronte Road Municipality/UT: Town of Oakville OLT Case No.: OLT-22-004834 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-004833

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Eaglewood Communities Inc. Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision – Failure of Approval Authority to make a decision Description: To permit development of a four-storey condo having 71 units in Oakville Reference Number: 24T-22008/1531 Property Address: 1354 Bronte Road Municipality/UT: Town of Oakville OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000519 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-004833

Heard: June 20, 2023 by video hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Counsel*/Representative
Bronte River Limited Partnership	Meaghan Barrett*, Patrick Harrington*
Town of Oakville	Jennifer Huctwith*
Regional Municipality of Halton	Brittany Maione*, Kelly Yerxa*
Conservation Halton	Konstantine Stavrakos*
Eaglewood Communities Inc.	Russell Cheeseman*
Dennis Khanna
Michael Barton

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. BOBKA ON JUNE 20, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This was the second Case Management Conference (“CMC”) regarding appeals pursuant to sections 34(11) and 51(34) of the Planning Act (“Act”) by Bronte River Limited Partnership (“Bronte River”) against the refusal or neglect by the Town of Oakville (“Town”) to make a decision on applications for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) and a Draft Plan of Subdivision (“Draft Plan”) in relation to the property located at 1300, 1316, 1326, 1342 and 1350 Bronte Road, in the Town (“Bronte Property”). These appeals (OLT Lead Case No. OLT-22-004487) will be referred to as the “Bronte River Appeals” and are to permit the development of 39 detached residential units, a future condominium block with 96 townhouse units, one relocated heritage building, along with a new Municipal street and natural heritage system.

2This was the first CMC regarding appeals pursuant to sections 22(7), 34(11) and 51(34) of the Planning Act by Eaglewood Communities Inc. (“Eaglewood”) against the refusal or neglect by the Town to make a decision on applications for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”), a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) and a Draft Plan of Subdivision (“Draft Plan”) in relation to the property located at 1354 Bronte Road, in the Town (“Eaglewood Property”). These appeals (OLT Lead Case No. OLT-22-004833) will be referred to as the “Eaglewood Appeals” and are to permit the development of a four-storey condominium with 71 units.

NOTICE

3It was confirmed at the first CMC for the Bronte River Appeals that proper notice had been given, and the Affidavit of Service for those appeals was marked as Exhibit 1.

4The Tribunal received an Affidavit of Service, sworn by Darlene Hornsby, confirming that Notice of this first CMC for the Eaglewood Appeals of the OPA and ZBA was properly given and marked it as Exhibit 2.

5The Tribunal notes that regarding the Draft Plan (OLT Case No. OLT-23-000519) there was an issue raised regarding Notice, as Eaglewood discovered that the appeal for the Draft Plan had not been filed. Eaglewood filed that appeal, and it was received by the Tribunal on June 16, 2023, in advance of the CMC, with the intent that it would be heard together with the other two appeals. There were no objections voiced by the Parties. The Tribunal finds that it is appropriate and efficient to do so.

6Regarding appropriate Notice, the Affidavit of Service (Exhibit 2) featured a description of all three instruments (the OPA, ZBA and Draft Plan); however, the Title of Proceedings did not list the Draft Plan. The Tribunal finds that as it would have been the same circulation for the Draft Plan as for the OPA and the ZBA, and as the Draft Plan was described in the Affidavit of Service, that there was appropriate notice provided regarding the Draft Plan Appeal.

STATUS REQUESTS

7In the Bronte River Appeals, the Tribunal received a written request from the Trafalgar Township Historical Society for Participant status. The concerns expressed included the lack of recognition of key Indigenous areas, settlement or test pits, along with historical errors and omissions regarding the dating of the settlement and naming of early settlers. Upon review and consideration, and hearing no concerns from the Parties, the Tribunal granted this request for Participant status.

8In the Eaglewood Appeals, the Tribunal received written requests for Party Status from the Regional Municipality of Halton (“Region”) and Conservation Halton (“Conservation Authority”). The statutory Parties raised no concerns with these requests. Having heard submissions, upon review and consideration, the Tribunal granted Party status to both entities.

HEARING TOGETHER

9Mr. Harrington explained that the Bronte Property and the Eaglewood Property are adjacent and share a connection from Bronte Road. He highlighted that there are many common issues, including environmental concerns and that there would be an overlap in the number of experts called (including experts in engineering, traffic, environmental impact and servicing). Mr. Harrington requested that the appeals be heard together and proposed a phased hearing with Phase 1 involving the specific Bronte issues as well as the common elements of both cases, while Phase 2 would then involve the Eaglewood site-specific issues. All Parties supported this request. The Tribunal finds this to be reasonable and granted the request to hear the appeals together.

Tribunal-Led Mediation

10The Tribunal highlighted the availability of Tribunal-led mediation and advised the Parties to contact the Case Coordinator should they wish to pursue this option. The Parties advised that there had been good discussions and cooperation to date, which they anticipated would continue, that they were hopeful that the preliminary issues could be further scoped and that they were aware of the opportunity and process should Tribunal-led mediation become necessary.

DRAFT PROCEDURAL ORDER

11In advance of the CMC, the Parties jointly submitted a draft Procedural Order (“PO”) with preliminary Issues List (“IL”) for the Tribunal’s consideration. In anticipation of the Tribunal’s favourable granting of Party status to the Region and the Conservation Authority, these two Parties had proactively provided their issues which were incorporated into the submitted draft PO. As discussed, the Parties proposed a phased hearing, and asked for a 10-day hearing for Phase 1 involving the specific issues of the Bronte Appeals and the issues common to both appeals. A subsequent five-day hearing for Phase 2 would involve any site-specific issues for the Eaglewood Appeals.

12In the interest of efficiency, Mr. Cheeseman suggested that the Tribunal Member presiding over the Phase 1 Hearing remain seized for the Phase 2 Hearing. The Tribunal has noted this request and will consider same when scheduling the events, subject to the availability of the Tribunal’s calendar.

13The Parties also jointly requested that another CMC be scheduled. This would enable the Parties time to scope the IL and to provide the Tribunal with a further update. The Tribunal agreed with this suggestion and directed that, at the next CMC, the Parties were also to advise the Tribunal if all the requested hearing dates were still required.

SCHEDULING OF FUTURE HEARINGS

14The Tribunal granted the Parties’ requests to hear the appeals in two phases and to schedule a subsequent CMC. It was agreed that the final PO for Phase 1 and the draft PO for Phase 2 would be provided for the Tribunal’s review in advance of this next CMC.

15The Tribunal scheduled the next CMC for Monday, October 16, 2023, at 10 a.m. by video hearing.

16Parties 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.

17The hearings are scheduled to proceed by video as follows:

Monday, October 16, 2023 at 10 a.m. (one-day CMC) GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/709076365 Access Code: 709-076-365 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 Toll-Free: 1-888-299-1889 Audio-only Access Code: 709-076-365

Monday, February 5, 2024, at 10 a.m. (10-day Hearing of the Merits) GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/909787981 Access Code: 909-787-981 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9391 Toll-Free: 1-888-455-1389 Audio-only access Code: 909-787-981

Monday, April 8, 2024, at 10 a.m. (five-day Hearing of the Merits) GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/719383509 Access Code: 719-383-509 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 Toll-Free: 1-888-299-1889 Audio-only access code: 719-383-509

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: 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.

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.

ORDER

21The Tribunal Orders that:

a. the Trafalgar Township Historical Society has been granted Participant status in the OLT-22-004487 appeals;

b. the Regional Municipality of Halton and Conservation Halton have each been granted Party status in the OLT-22-004833 appeals;

c. OLT Case Nos. OLT-22-004487 and OLT-22-004833 will be heard together;

a third Case Management Conference for OLT-22-004487 and a second CMC for OLT-22-004833 has been set for Monday, October 16, 2023, at 10 a.m. by video hearing;

d. the appeals will be heard in two phases;

e. the final Procedural Order for the Phase 1 Hearing (including Issues List) and the draft Procedural Order for the Phase 2 (including Issues List) will be provided to the Tribunal for consideration on or before Monday, October 2, 2023;

f. the Phase 1 Hearing of the Merits (10 days) has been set for Monday, February 5, 2024, at 10 a.m. by video hearing;

g. the Phase 2 Hearing of the Merits (five days) has been set for Monday, April 8, 2024, at 10 a.m. by video hearing; and,

h. there will be no further notice and the Member is not seized on the matter.

“S. Bobka”

S. BOBKA 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.