Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: September 13, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002812 (Formerly PL180688)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Appellant: Tilzen Holdings Limited Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Refusal of request Description: To permit the construction of an 11-storey mixed use building with retail on the ground floor Reference Number: 17 264567 NNY 23 OZ Property Address: 145 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto OLT Case No: OLT-22-002812 Legacy Case No: PL180688 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002812 Legacy Lead Case No: PL180688 OLT Case Name: Tilzen Holdings Limited v. Toronto (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Appellant: Tilzen Holdings Limited Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit the construction of an 11-storey mixed use building with retail on the ground floor Reference Number: 17 264567 NNY 23 OZ Property Address: 145 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto OLT Case No: OLT-22-003741 Legacy Case No: PL180307 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002812 Legacy Lead Case No: PL180688
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 114(15) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A.
Appellant: Tilzen Holdings Limited Subject: Site Plan Description: To permit the construction of an 11-storey mixed use building with retail on the ground floor Reference Number: 17 264570 NNY 23 SA Property Address: 145 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto OLT Case No: OLT-22-003739 Legacy Case No: MM180036 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002812 Legacy Lead Case No: PL180688
Heard: September 6, 2023, by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Tilzen Holdings Limited | Michael Cara, Daniel Artenosi (in absentia) |
| City of Toronto | Mark Crawford |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY GREGORY J. INGRAM AND T.F. NG ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
INTRODUCTION
1This is the second Case Management Conference (“CMC”) appealing the refusal of an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”). A previous prehearing conference had been held for the Site Plan (“SP”) and the Zoning By-law Amendment appeal (“ZBA”). Tilzen Holdings Limited (“Applicant/Appellant”) has filed these appeals against the City of Toronto (“City”) pursuant to s. 22 (7), s.34(11) of the Planning Act, and s.114(15) of the City of Toronto Act. The Subject Property is known municipally as 145 Sheppard Ave. E., Toronto. The OPA appeal is currently separate and not consolidated with the SP and ZBA appeals.
2The purpose of this CMC is to receive an update from the Parties, consider the Party Status request of Jiljan Inc and Romby Investments Limited, investigate opportunities for mediation or settlement and establish a plan for the next steps.
UPDATE
3The Tribunal received an email from the Applicant/Appellant on August 24, 2023, to request that the deadline for the Parties to provide a draft Procedural Order (“PO”) be moved to October 31, 2023. The request was made to provide Mr. Crawford additional time to receive instructions from the City Council at their meeting in October.
4The Appellant provided a further update during the CMC and informed the Tribunal that they have engaged in discussions with the City and Mr. Platt, counsel for Jiljan Inc. and Romby Investments Limited, in an effort to work toward a settlement. Mr. Cara indicated that the City Council process has presented challenges and that Mr. Crawford has now indicated that he should be able to get direction from the Council at their November meeting.
5On consent of the City, Mr. Cara requested that a third CMC be scheduled in December to allow his client time to gain a better understanding of the issues and potentially resolve as many as possible with the City.
PARTY STATUS REQUEST
6On consent of the Parties and Mr. Platt, his clients’ Party Status request was again deferred. Mr. Platt indicated a preference to continue discussions with the Parties and to see a final Issues List ("IL”) before a decision on Party Status is made.
7The Tribunal will defer the Party Status request of Jiljan Inc. and Romby Investments Ltd. until the next CMC.
MEDIATION
8The Tribunal inquired about Tribunal-led mediation. The Parties continue to successfully communicate regarding the application and have also included Mr. Platt. They believe they can continue to have successful discussions through their own process and Tribunal led mediation is not necessary at this time.
DISPOSITION
9The Tribunal scheduled a CMC pursuant to the parties’ request. Parties will update the Tribunal on the status of discussions on or before Friday, December 1, 2023, and indicate if they are prepared to move to a Settlement Hearing, in which event the CMC will be converted to a Settlement Hearing. If the matter remains contested, it is expected that a Draft PO and IL will be provided to the Case Coordinator by December 1, 2023, and parties will finalize the PO at the CMC.
10The third CMC is scheduled to proceed by video on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 10 a.m.
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.
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/709076365
Access code: 709-076-365
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: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll-Free) 1-(888) 299-1889. The access code is 709-076-365.
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 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.
15No further notice will be given.
16The Panel Members are not seized.
ORDER
17THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS:
That the Party Status request of Jiljan Inc. and Romby Investments Limited be deferred until the next CMC.
That a Case Management Conference commence by video hearing on December 15, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The Case Management Conference may be converted to a Settlement Hearing.
That in the event the matter is not resolved, the parties are to provide a draft Procedural Order and Issues List on or before Dec. 1, 2023, and the Parties are to be ready to finalize the Procedural Order at the CMC.
“Gregory J. Ingram”
GREGORY J. INGRAM MEMBER
“T.F. Ng”
T.F. NG
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.