Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: September 13, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-004758
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Appellant: Canadian National Railway Company Applicant: Jamesville Redevelopment Limited Partnership Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment Description: To permit construction of a 447 residential unit development consisting of stacked townhouses and 7-storey multiple dwellings. Reference Number: UHOPA-21-014 Property Address: 405 James Street N Municipality/UT: Hamilton/Hamilton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004758 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004758 OLT Case Name: Canadian National Railway Company v. Hamilton (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Subject: Zoning By-law Amendment Description: To permit construction of a 447 residential unit development consisting of stacked townhouses and 7-storey multiple dwellings. Reference Number: ZAC-21-031 Property Address: 405 James Street N Municipality/UT: Hamilton/Hamilton OLT Case No: OLT-22-004759 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-004758
Heard: September 8, 2023
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Canadian National Railway Company | Max Reedijk, Katarzyna Sliwa (in absentia) |
| Jamesville Redevelopment Limited Partnership | Russell Cheeseman, Stephanie Fleming |
| City of Hamilton | Brian Duxbury |
| City Housing Hamilton Corporation | Mark Abradjian |
MEMORNDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 BY S. deBOER AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This decision arises from the second Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held in preparation for a hearing of the merits of the Appeal by the Canadian National Railway Company (“Appellant”) pursuant to s. 17(24) and s. 34(11) of the Planning Act against the City of Hamilton’s (“City”) approval of the Official Plan Amendment Application (“OPA”) and the Zoning By-law Amendment Application (“ZBA”) for the property municipally known as 405 James Street North in the City of Hamilton (“Subject Lands”).
2The purpose of this CMC is, firstly, to receive an update from the Parties concerning the assessment for Tribunal-led mediation, and, secondly, to set a hearing date and to finalize a Procedural Order (“PO”) and Issues List (“IL”) that is to be used to govern the merits hearing.
BACKGROUND
3The Official Plan Amendment permits a 447-unit residential development on the Subject Lands, consisting of 14 three-storey (13.0 metre) multiple dwellings (stacked townhouses) and two seven-storey (24.0 metre) multiple dwellings with a total of 334 parking spaces. The applications redesignate the Subject Lands from "Medium Density Residential 1" to "Medium Density Residential 2" and establish a Special Policy Area on Schedule "M-2" to increase the permitted density to be 205 units per gross hectare, whereas 60-150 units per gross hectare was permitted.
4The Zoning By-law Amendment changes the zoning of the Subject Lands from "DE/S-65" (Low Density Multiple Dwellings) District to a site-specific Transit Oriented Corridor Multiple Residential Zone (TOC3, 811, H128).
5The Appellant filed an appeal stating that inter alia, the approved OPA and ZBA are not consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, (“PPS”), the Growth Plan for the Greater Horseshoe Area and the federal regulations under which the Appellant must operate.
PARTY REQUESTS
6The Tribunal received no further Party requests.
PARTICIPANT REQUESTS
7The Tribunal did not receive any Participant requests prior to, or, during the CMC.
PROCEDURAL ORDER, ISSUES LIST AND RESOLUTION OPPORTUNITES
8A draft PO and IL was received by the Tribunal prior to the commencement of the CMC. The Parties discussed the draft PO and IL during the CMC. It was noted that the Parties completed a Tribunal-led mediation evaluation in August 2023. The Parties will be continuing with Tribunal-led mediation to resolve the issues or, at minimum, reduce the issues that would be heard during a merits hearing. Since Tribunal-led mediation will be occurring in October 2023, it was agreed upon that a further CMC would be necessary to clarify and finalize the PO and IL based on the results of the mediation.
SCHEDULING OF HEARINGS
9The Parties requested that, along with the third CMC, a hearing of the merits be scheduled in advance of the mediation. The Parties had originally requested a ten-day hearing, however, the Tribunal informed the Parties that a nine-day hearing would be more appropriate at this time. The Tribunal was able to schedule a third CMC to occur on December 19, 2023, by video conference and a hearing of the merits commencing on May 21, 2024, by video conference.
10The Tribunal has scheduled a third CMC to occur by video conference on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at 10 a.m. The purpose of this CMC is to approve a draft PO and IL which will be used to govern the merits hearing for this matter. It is the request of the Tribunal that the PO with an agreed upon IL be submitted to the Tribunal no later than December 14, 2023.
11The Tribunal has scheduled a hearing of the merits that will occur by video conference beginning on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 10 a.m. for a duration of 9 days. Specific coordinates for the merits hearing will be provided after the completion of the third CMC.
12The hearings are scheduled to proceed by video as follows:
Third CMC Tuesday December 19, 2023, at 10 a.m. GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/687587165 Access code: 687-587-165 Audio-only telephone line: (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373 Audio-only access code: 687-587-165
Hearing of the Merits Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 10 a.m. GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/348282861 Access code: 348-282-861 Audio-only line: (Toll Free) 1 888 299 1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373 Audio-only access code: 348-282-861
13Parties 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.
14Parties 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
15Persons 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.
16Individuals 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
17THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that a third CMC will commence on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at 10 a.m. for the purpose of finalizing the Procedural Order and the Issues List for the Hearing of the Merits.
18THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that a Hearing of the Merits will commence on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 10 a.m. for a duration of nine days.
19There will be no further notice.
20The Member is not seized.
“S. deBoer”
S. deBOER 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.