Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: August 28, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000238
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Upper Queen Ratepayers Association
Applicant: 1000077448 Ontario Inc.
Subject: By-law No. Z.-1-233088
Description: to permit a 2-storey cluster townhouse development of 10 dwelling units
Reference Number: BL Z.-1-233088
Property Address: 489 Upper Queen Street
Municipality/UT: City of London
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000238
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000238
OLT Case Name: Upper Queen Ratepayers Association v. London (City)
Heard: August 17, 2023 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Upper Queen Ratepayers Association (“Appellant”) 1000077448 Ont. Inc. (“Applicant”)
Paula Lombardi Analee Baroudi
City of London
Christina McCreery Aynsley Hovius (in abstentia)
DECISION DELIVERED BY a. sauve AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference(“CMC”) for this matter. On February 24, 2023, the Council for the City of London approved a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) to rezone the lands at 489 Upper Queen Street to a Residential (R5-7) Special Provision Zone to permit a two-storey cluster townhouse development consisting of 10 dwelling units with special provisions relating to the applicable setbacks, maximum density permitted, and parking among other provisions.
2The Appellants concerns include, but are not limited to, that the proposed development is inappropriate, an incompatible building type that is not in keeping with the character of the neighbourhood, an over intensification and over development of the Subject Land, reduced setbacks, increased traffic and a lack of sufficient parking.
PRELIMINARY MATTERS
3Counsel for the Applicant, Ms. Analee Baroudi informed the Tribunal that their client’s name was incorrect on the Ontario Land Tribunal (“OLT”) documents. They stated that the correct name of the Applicant is 1000077448 Ontario Inc., and not Siv-ik Planning and Design Inc. With no objections from the other Parties, the Tribunal will use the correct name going forward and will ensure the change is noted in the Tribunal’s records.
4The Affidavit of Service for this CMC was marked as Exhibit 1.
5The Tribunal had received 13 Participant Status requests prior to this CMC although none appeared. Counsel for the Appellant, Ms. Paula Lombardi, explained that the 13 Participant Status requests were members of the Ratepayers Association she is representing and that there had been a misunderstanding. The requests were therefore dismissed. No other Participant nor Party Status requests were made at the CMC.
6The Parties advised that OLT led Mediation was not needed as they have worked on other files together and have a good working relationship. They are confident that if the matter can be resolved without a Hearing that they will be able to reach that goal themselves.
7A draft Procedural Order (“PO”) and draft Issues List (“IL”) was prepared prior to the CMC. The Parties agreed that the IL is complete, and that the PO only needs the dates to be finalized.
NEXT STEPS
8The Parties will finalize their witness lists after future discussions but agreed that a three-day Hearing would be sufficient. The witness list will likely include three Planners, a Resident, and maybe two Urban Designers. The Tribunal enquired if more Hearing dates would be necessary, but the Parties believe that they will be able to work within the three-day time frame. If necessary, they are agreeable to providing written closing submissions.
9A finalized PO and IL shall be provided to the Tribunal by Friday, August 25, 2023.
10The Tribunal has scheduled a three (3) consecutive day Hearing by video beginning on Monday, October 30, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday, November 1, 2023:
11Parties 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.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/370987861
Access Code: 370-987-861
12Parties 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
13Persons 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 as indicated above.
14Individuals 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 CMC 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.
15No further notice of the CMC is required.
ORDER
16THE TRIBUANL ORDERS that:
The date and particulars of the Hearing are set out above;
The Member is not seized but may be spoken to through the Case Coordinator if any issues arise.
“A. Sauve”
A. SAUVE
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.