Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
September 21, 2023
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-22-004824
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant:
Dorsay Development Corporation
Subject:
Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description:
To permit the development of 18-storey and 20-storey residential buildings with a ground floor community facility and/or ground floor retail space on the West Parcel and a 17-storey residential building with ground floor retail on the East Parcel for a total of 661 residential units in both parcels
Reference Number:
PLAN 20 127887
Property Address:
East and west sides of Circa Drive, north of Highway 7 East and legally described as Part of Lot 11, Concession 4 and Part of Block 3 of 65M-2503
Municipality/UT:
City of Markham/ Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.:
OLT-22-004824
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-22-004824
OLT Case Name
Dorsay Development Corporation v. Markham (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant:
Dorsay Development Corporation
Subject:
Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Neglect to make a decision
Description:
To permit the development of 18-storey and 20-storey residential buildings with a ground floor community facility and/or ground floor retail space on the West Parcel and a 17-storey residential building with ground floor retail on the East Parcel for a total of 661 residential units in both parcels
Reference Number:
PLAN 22 260438
Property Address:
East and west sides of Circa Drive, north of Highway 7 East and legally described as Part of Lot 11, Concession 4 and Part of Block 3 of 65M-2503
Municipality/UT:
City of Markham/ Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.:
OLT-23-000151
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-22-004824
Heard:
September 7, 2023 by Video Hearing (“VH”)
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Dorsay Development Corporation (“Applicant/Appellant”)
Meaghan McDermid
Susan Rosenthal (in absentia)
City of Markham
(“City”)
Maggie Cheung-Madar
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY ASTRID J. CLOS ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) convened for appeals brought pursuant to s. 22(7) for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and s. 34(11) for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) pursuant to the Planning Act due to the failure of council to make a decision within the statutory timeframe related to the parcels legally described as Part of Lot 11, Concession 4 and Part of Block 3 of 65M-2503 (“Subject Property”) located in the City.
2The Subject Property consist of two parcels. The west parcel is located to the west of Circa Drive with an area of approximately 0.72 hectares (“ha”). The east parcel is located to the east of Circa Drive with an area of approximately 0.33 ha. The total area of both parcels is approximately 1.05 ha.
3On October 1, 2020, the Applicant/Appellant submitted an application for an OPA to the City to amend the Markham Centre Secondary Plan. The OPA application was deemed complete by the City on November 2, 2020. A resubmission of the revised OPA Application was filed with the City on March 29, 2022. The revised OPA was subsequently appealed by the Applicant/Appellant.
4On September 30, 2022, the Applicant/Appellant submitted an application for a ZBA to the City. The ZBA application was deemed complete by the City on November 17, 2022. The ZBA was subsequently appealed by the Applicant/Appellant.
5The original submission proposed the development of:
West parcel - two 24-storey residential towers, with 559 residential units and approximately 770 square metres (“m2”) of ground floor retail area; and,
East parcel - a four-storey building of approximately 6,740 m2 of office space and 1,238 m2 of ground floor retail.
6The revised proposal, which is the subject of these appeals, proposes the development of 661 residential units:
West parcel - a 20-storey residential tower, with a ground floor community facility and/or ground floor retail space, and an 18-storey residential tower with ground floor retail space; and,
East parcel - a 17-storey residential tower with ground floor retail space.
7The Affidavit of Service affirmed on August 15, 2023, was entered as Exhibit 1.
PARTICIPANT STATUS
8In response to the notice, requests for Participant status were received from:
Patricia Lee
Kelvin Shao
Connie Chan, on behalf of the YRSCC 1072 Board of Directors
Aamir Jeewa, on behalf of the YRSCC 1043 Board of Directors
Wai Che Regina Chan
9Meaghan McDermid, Counsel for the Applicant/Appellant, and Maggie Cheung-Madar, Counsel for the City, both indicated that they were not in receipt of the Participant status request of Wai Che Regina Chan, but were in receipt of the other four requests and had no objection to these four requests being granted.
10The Tribunal found that the requests from Patricia Lee, Kelvin Shao, Connie Chan, and Aamir Jeewa raised genuine land use issues and demonstrated a genuine interest in this matter. With no opposition from the Parties, these Participant status requests were granted by the Tribunal.
11The Tribunal directed that the Participant status request from Wai Che Regina Chan be considered at the second CMC to allow this request to be reviewed by the Parties.
DRAFT PROCEDURAL ORDER
12Ms. McDermid advised that her client is an Appellant in a related outstanding matter before the OLT regarding the Markham Official Plan (“OP”) OMB Case No. PL140743 now OLT-22-002785. Ms. McDermid submitted that her client seeks the consolidation of OLT-22-002785 with the current OPA and ZBA matters. Ms. McDermid explained that her client’s OP appeal includes both site-specific and city-wide policies. Ms. McDermid offered to ensure that all those requiring notice of OLT-22-002785 would receive notice of the consolidation request through her office and that she would inform the Case Coordinator of those who requested notice of the second CMC.
13Ms. McDermid stated that her client has also recently appealed the Site Plan (“SP”) application for the Subject Property to the Tribunal and will be seeking that the SP appeal also be consolidated.
14Ms. Cheung-Madar advised that she was aware of the consolidation requests being sought and advised that she will be seeking instructions from Council in mid-November 2023.
15The Tribunal canvassed the Parties with respect to the timing for a Draft Procedural Order (“DPO”) and Issues List being filed. The Tribunal directed that the DPO be filed by the Parties with the Case Coordinator no later than Friday, November 24, 2023.
SECOND CMC
16The Parties jointly requested that a Second CMC be scheduled. The purpose of the Second CMC will be to review the DPO, consider the requests for consolidation, consider the request for Participant status and facilitate any other matters relevant to the proceedings as determined by the Tribunal. The Tribunal scheduled a Second CMC on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 10 a.m.
17Parties and Participants are asked to log into the VH at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/709076365
Access Code: 709-076-365
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: (Toll-Free) 1-888-299-1889 or +1 (647) 497-9373. The Access Code is as indicated above.
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.
21The Tribunal requested that the Parties advise the Case Coordinator as soon as it is known if issues have been scoped or a settlement has been reached to allow any adjustments to be made to the Tribunal calendar. Hearing dates are a scarce resource that must be used effectively by the Tribunal.
22The Parties were reminded that Tribunal-led mediation is available at their convenience by contacting the Case Coordinator.
ORDER
23The Tribunal orders that:
a. Participant Status is granted to:
Patricia Lee
Kelvin Shao
Connie Chan, on behalf of the YRSCC 1072 Board of Directors
Aamir Jeewa, on behalf of the YRSCC 1043 Board of Directors
b. The Draft Procedural Order and Issues List will be filed by the Parties with the Case Coordinator no later than Friday, November 24, 2023; and,
c. A Second Case Management Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 10 a.m. by Video Hearing.
24The Member is not seized.
25No further notice will be provided.
“Astrid J. Clos”
ASTRID J. CLOS
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.