Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE:

August 09 2023

CASE NO(S).:

OLT-22-002905

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Appellant

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

Applicant

Clubhouse Developments Inc.

Subject:

Zoning By-law

Description:

To permit the development of a 662-unit subdivision on lands currently occupied by the Board of Trade Golf Course

Reference Number:

ZBA 035-2022

Property Address:

20 Lloyd Street, 241 Wycliffe Avenue, 737 and 757 Clarence Street

Municipality/UT:

Vaughan/York

OLT Case No:

OLT-22-002905

OLT Lead Case No:

OLT-22-002905

OLT Case Name:

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green v. Vaughan (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(36) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Appellant

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

Applicant

Clubhouse Developments Inc.

Subject:

Proposed Official Plan Amendment

Description:

To permit the development of a 662-unit subdivision on lands currently occupied by the Board of Trade Golf Course

Reference Number:

OPA 74

Property Address:

20 Lloyd Street, 241 Wycliffe Avenue, 737 and 757 Clarence Street

Municipality/UT:

Vaughan/York

OLT Case No:

OLT-22-003094

OLT Lead Case No:

OLT-22-002905

Heard:

July 31 2023 by Video Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel

Clubhouse Developments Inc. (“Clubhouse”)

Kyle Gossen,

Mark Flowers

City of Vaughan (“City”)

Andrew Baker, Zaynab Al-waadh,

Pitman Patterson (in absentia)

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green (“Friends”)

David Donnelly,

Cameron Cotton-O’Brien

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY WILLIAM MIDDLETON ON JULY 31, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

1The background of this proceeding was fully described in the Decision of Member Hardy and Member Smith issued May 15, 2023 and need not be repeated here.

2The purpose of this Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held on July 31, 2023, was to finalize a Procedural Order (“PO”) in this matter and set a hearing date. The Parties submitted a draft PO in advance of the CMC, and advised the Tribunal that they had reached a consensus on all its material terms and seek a 14-day hearing.

3The Tribunal has scheduled the hearing to commence on July 2, 2024 for a period of 14 days ending July 19, 2024, and the details are as set out below.

4The hearing is scheduled to proceed by video on July 2, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.

5Parties 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://meet.goto.com/348282861

Access Code: 348-282-861

Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 Toll Free: 1-888-299-1889

Audio-only Access Code: 348-282-861

6Parties 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

7Persons 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 (647) 497-9373 The access code is 348-282-861

8Individuals 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

9THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:

(a) The hearing of this appeal shall commence on July 2, 2024 for a period of 14 days as described in paragraph three above; and

(b) The Procedural Order appended as Attachment ‘A” shall govern the conduct of this proceeding

10This Vice Chair shall remain available to assist the Parties with any ongoing case management matters, subject to the Tribunal’s calendar.

“William Middleton”

WILLIAM MIDDLETON

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.

SCHEDULE 1

CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002905

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Appellant:

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

Applicant:

Clubhouse Developments Inc.

Subject:

Zoning By-law

Description:

To permit the development of a 662-unit subdivision on the lands currently occupied by the Board of Trade Golf Course

Reference Number:

ZBA 035-2022

Property Address:

20 Lloyd Street, 241 Wycliffe Avenue, 737 and 757 Clarence Street

Municipality/UT:

Vaughan/York

OLT Case No.

OLT-22-002905

OLT Lead Case No.

OLT-22-002905

OLT Case Name:

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green v. Vaughan (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(36) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Appellant:

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

Applicant:

Clubhouse Developments Inc.

Subject:

Proposed Official Plan Amendment

Description:

To permit the development of a 662-unit subdivision on the lands currently occupied by the Board of Trade Golf Course

Reference Number:

OPA 74

Property Address:

20 Lloyd Street, 241 Wycliffe Avenue, 737 and 757 Clarence Street

Municipality/UT:

Vaughan/York

OLT Case No.

OLT-22-003094

OLT Lead Case No.

OLT-22-002905

OLT Case Name:

Friends to Keep Vaughan Green v. Vaughan (City)

PROCEDURAL ORDER

1. The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this procedural order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.

Organization of the Hearing

2. The Hearing will begin on July 2, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Unless otherwise subsequently ordered by the Tribunal, the Hearing shall proceed by videoconference.

3. The Parties’ initial estimation for the length of the Hearing is 14 days. The Parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the Hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible.

4. The Parties and Participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.

5. The issues for the Hearing are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a Party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.

6. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, direct evidence (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on the Parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.

7. The purpose of this Procedural Order and the meaning of the terms used in it are set out in Attachment 4.

8. Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible – ideally before the case management conference. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.

9. Any person who intends to participate in the Hearing, including Parties, counsel and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website (https://olt.gov.on.ca/tribunals/lpat/).

Requirements Before the Hearing

10. A Party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other Parties a list of the witnesses and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before March 1, 2024, and in accordance with paragraph 24 below. A Party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.

11. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting by April 2, 2024 and try to resolve or reduce the issues for the Hearing. Following the experts’ meetings, and if any agreement is reached, the Parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the Case Co-ordinator on or before April 18, 2024.

12. An expert witness shall prepare an Expert Witness Statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the Hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 15 below. Instead of an Expert Witness Statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.

13. Expert witnesses who are under summons and not paid to produce a report do not have to file an Expert Witness Statement; but the Party calling them must file an outline of the expert’s evidence as in paragraph 15 below.

14. A Party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a Witness Statement, as in paragraph 15 below.

15. On or before May 3, 2024, the Parties shall provide copies of their Witness Statements and Expert Witness Statements to the other Parties and to the Case Co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 24 below.

16. On or before May 3, 2024, a Participant shall provide copies of their written Participant Statement to the Parties and to the Case Co-ordinator in accordance with paragraph 24 below. A Participant cannot present oral evidence or submissions at the Hearing unless ordered by the Tribunal.

17. Parties may provide to all other Parties and the Case Co-ordinator a written response to any Written Evidence on or before May 31, 2024, and in accordance with paragraph 24 below.

18. On or before June 11, 2024, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

19. On or before June 11, 2024, the Parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other Parties in accordance with paragraph 24 below. If a model will be used, all Parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the Hearing.

20. The Parties shall cooperate to prepare a Joint Document Book which shall be shared with the Case Co-ordinator on or before June 18, 2024.

21. A person wishing to change Written Evidence, including Witness Statements, must make a written Motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the Moving Party provide copies of the Motion to all other Parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the Motion.

22. A Party who provides Written Evidence of a witness to the other Parties must have the witness attend the Hearing to give oral evidence, unless the Party notifies the Tribunal and the other Parties on or before June 18, 2024 that the written evidence is not part of their record.

23. The Parties shall prepare and file a preliminary Hearing Plan with the Tribunal on or before June 11, 2024 with a proposed schedule for the Hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the Parties participating in the Hearing, the preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in direct, cross-examination and re-direct examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The Parties are expected to ensure that the Hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the Hearing Plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the Hearing Plan at any time in the course of the Hearing.

24. All filing shall be electronic, unless the Tribunal requests a hard copy(ies) of any document. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7.

25. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the Hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.

26. A summary of the various procedural dates is contained in Attachment 5.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

ATTACHMENT 1 LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS

PARTIES

DAVIES HOWE LLP

The Tenth Floor

425 Adelaide Street West

Toronto, Ontario

M5V 3C1

Mark Flowers

markf@davieshowe.com

Kyle Gossen

kyleg@davieshowe.com

Tel: (416) 263-4513 / (416) 263-4519

Fax: (416) 977-8931

Lawyers for Clubhouse Developments Inc.

BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS LLP

Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

22 Adelaide Street West, Suite 3400

Toronto, Ontario

M5H 4E3

Pitman Patterson

ppatterson@blg.com

Andrew Baker

abaker@blg.com

Tel: (416) 367-6109 / (416) 367-6250

Fax: (416) 367-6749

CITY OF VAUGHAN

Legal Services

2141 Major Mackenzie Drive

Vaughan, Ontario

L6A 1T1

Zaynab Al-waadh

zaynab.al-waadh@vaughan.ca

Tel: (905) 832-8585

Lawyers for City of Vaughan

DONNELLY LAW

Barristers & Solicitors

276 Carlaw Avenue, Unit 203

Toronto, Ontario

M4M 3L1

David Donnelly

david@donnellylaw.ca

Tel: (416) 572-0464

Fax: (416) 572-0465

Lawyers for Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

ATTACHMENT 2 ISSUES LIST

NOTE: The identification of an issue on the Issues List does not constitute an acknowledgement by the Tribunal or any Party that the issue is relevant or appropriate, or that the Tribunal has jurisdiction over it. The identification of an issue by a Party indicates that Party’s intent to tender evidence and/or make submissions on it, for the purpose of fairly identifying to the other Parties the case they need to meet.

Issues of Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

1. Does the development proposal consisting of Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments for the subject lands (collectively the “development proposal”) have appropriate regard for the relevant matters of provincial interest enumerated in section 2 of the Planning Act, including the matters set out in sections 2(a), 2(h), 2(n), 2(p), 2(r) and 2(s) therein?

2. Is the development proposal consistent with the relevant policies of the Provincial Policy Statement (2020), in particular the following policy sections:

-Policy Section 1.1.1 (Managing and Directing Land Use)

-Policy Sections 1.1.3.2, 1.1.3.3 and 1.1.3.4 (Settlement Areas)

-Policy Section 1.5.1 (Public Spaces, Recreation, Parks, Trails and Open Space)

-Policy Section 1.6.7.1 (Transportation System)

-Policy Section 1.8.1 (Energy Conservation, Air Quality, and Climate Change)

-Policy Section 2.1.5, 2.1.7 and 2.1.8 (Natural Heritage)

-Policy Section 3.1.3 (Natural Hazard)?

3. Is the development proposal in conformity with the relevant policies in the 2010 Regional Official Plan (2019 Consolidation), in particular the following policy sections:

-Policy Section 2.1.1, 2.1.7, 2.1.9, 2.1.12, 2.1.13 (Regional Greenlands)

-Policy Section 2.2.3, 2.2.44 (Natural Features)?

4. Does the development proposal maintain the intent and principles of, and does it generally conform with, the City of Vaughan’s 2010 Official Plan (2020 Consolidation), in particular the following policy sections:

-Policy Section 2.2.3, 2.2.3.2, 2.2.3.3 (Managing Growth, Community Areas)

-Policy Section 3.2.3.8, 3.2.3.11 (Core Features)

-Policy Sections 9.1.2.2, 9.1.2.3 (Community Areas, Compatibility Criteria)?

5. Will the proposed development result in a significant loss of open space in the immediate area as well as the broader City of Vaughan?

6. Does the development proposal provide an appropriate transition to adjacent and surrounding areas, and are the proposed buffers adequate?

7. Does the development proposal fit within the character of adjacent and surrounding lands?

8. Will the proposed development cause an unacceptable increase in traffic in surrounding neighbourhoods and have an adverse impact?

9. Does the development proposal adequately assess hydrogeology and hydraulics impacts on adjacent lands, in particular the existing residential lands?

10. Has it been demonstrated that the development facilitated by OPA 74 and Zoning By-law 035-022 will have no negative impacts on the natural features on site?

11. Is the Bat habitat significant and will it be harmed?

12. Does the proposed development allow for appropriate connectivity of the surrounding natural system?

13. Will the ecological function of the natural heritage system be maintained and will the linkage corridor between the Humber River Valley system and the adjacent important ecological lands – Boyd Conservation area, Kortright, and ultimately northward with the Oak Ridges Moraine – be maintained?

14. Have the core features of the site, including woodlands, been appropriately identified and protected and have appropriate buffer zones to these been proposed?

15. Have the ecological impacts of roadways traversing the valley system been adequately evaluated?

16. Is the Zoning By-law Amendment appropriate, including with respect to whether it sufficiently regulates matters of built form including, height, density, massing, scale, and setbacks having regard for the subject lands, adjacent property and the character of the surrounding lands?

17. Is the Holding Zone appropriate and, if so, what conditions should be satisfied prior to the removal of the Holding symbol?

18. Given the issues above, does the development proposal represent good land use planning and is it in the public interest?

ATTACHMENT 3 ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Clubhouse Developments Inc.

2. City of Vaughan

3. Friends to Keep Vaughan Green

4. Clubhouse Developments Inc. (Reply)

ATTACHMENT 4 PURPOSE OF THE PROCEDURAL ORDER AND MEANING OF TERMS

Party is an individual or corporation permitted by the Tribunal to participate fully in the hearing by receiving copies of written evidence, presenting witnesses, cross-examining the witnesses of the other parties, and making submissions on all of the evidence. If an unincorporated group wishes to become a party, it must appoint one person to speak for it, and that person must accept the other responsibilities of a party as set out in the Order. Parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer, and may have an agent speak for them. The agent must have written authorisation from the party.

NOTE that a person who wishes to become a party before or at the hearing, and who did not request this at the case management conference (CMC), must ask the Tribunal to permit this.

A Participant is an individual, group or corporation, whether represented by a lawyer or not, who may make a written submission to the Tribunal. A participant cannot make an oral submission to the Tribunal or present oral evidence (testify in-person) at the hearing (only a party may do so). Subsection 33.2 of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act states that a person who is not a party to a proceeding may only make a submission to the Tribunal in writing. The Tribunal may direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions from the Tribunal on the content of their written submission, should that be found necessary by the Tribunal. A participant may also be asked questions by the parties should the Tribunal direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions on the content of their written submission.

A participant must be identified and be accorded participant status by the Tribunal at the CMC. A participant will not receive notice of conference calls on procedural issues that may be scheduled prior to the hearing, nor receive notice of mediation. A participant cannot ask for costs, or review of a decision, as a participant does not have the rights of a party to make such requests of the Tribunal.

Written Evidence includes all written material, reports, studies, documents, letters and witness statements which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing. These must have pages numbered consecutively throughout the entire document, even if there are tabs or dividers in the material.

Visual Evidence includes photographs, maps, videos, models, and overlays which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing.

A Witness Statement is a short written outline of the person’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which he or she will discuss and the witness’ opinions on those issues; and a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.

An Expert Witness Statement should include his or her (1) name and address, (2) qualifications, (3) a list of the issues he or she will address, (4) the witness’

opinions on those issues and the complete reasons for the opinions and (5) a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.

A Participant Statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which the participant wishes to address and the submission of the participant on those issues; and a list of reports, if any, which the participant wishes to refer to in their statement.

Additional Information

Summons: A party must ask a Tribunal Member or the senior staff of the Tribunal to issue a summons. This request must be made before the time that the list of witnesses is provided to the Tribunal and the parties. (See Rule 13 on the summons procedure.) If the Tribunal requests it, an affidavit must be provided indicating how the witness’ evidence is relevant to the hearing. If the Tribunal is not satisfied from the affidavit, it will require that a motion be heard to decide whether the witness should be summoned.

The order of examination of witnesses: is usually::

• direct examination by the Party presenting the witness;

• direct examination by any Party of similar interest, in the manner determined by the Tribunal;

• cross-examination by Parties of opposite interest;

• re-direct examination by the Party presenting the witness; or

• another order of examination mutually agreed among the Parties or directed by the Tribunal.

ATTACHMENT 5 SUMMARY OF PROCEDURAL DATES