Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: October 13, 2023
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000603
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Betovan Construction Limited
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To facilitate the development of a 29-storey building
Reference Number: 18 270572 WET 02 OZ
Property Address: 1 Richview Road
Municipality: City of Toronto
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000603
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000603
OLT Case Name: Betovan Construction Limited v. Toronto (City)
Heard: September 27, 2023 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel/Representative
Betovan Construction Limited
Ira T. Kagan Sarah Kagan
City of Toronto
Nathan Muscat
DECISION DELIVERED BY F. Lavoie and Kurtis Smith AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Decision and Order arises from the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held regarding an appeal filed by Betovan Construction Limited (the “Appellant”) pursuant to section 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, in respect of the failure by Council for the City of Toronto (the “City”) to make a decision on the Appellant’s application for Zoning By-law Amendment, to develop a 29-storey building on the Appellant’s property municipally known as 1 Richview Road.
PROCEDURAL MATTERS
2The Tribunal was in receipt of an Affidavit of Service sworn by Frederic Cheng on August 25, 2023, which was marked as Exhibit 1. There were no issues with the service of notice for the CMC and as such, no further notice is required.
3The Tribunal received a Participant Status request from Sandra Silva. Ms. Silva resides near the Property and has concerns, among other things, with respect to the noise and dust which could result from the development proposal. The City consented to the request and the Appellant did not object. The Tribunal hereby grants Participant Status to Sandra Silva.
SECOND CMC & HEARING DATES
4The Tribunal scheduled a second CMC by video on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 10 a.m. to review and approve the Draft Procedural Order, Issues List (“IL”) and to confirm the length of time required for the merit hearing.
5Counsel for the Applicant, Ira Kagan, advised the Tribunal that five days are anticipated to fully address the appeal. Nathan Muscat, Counsel for the City, advised that the IL will be finalized by late December and therefore does not consent to scheduling a hearing until instructed to do so by the City. However, Mr. Muscat indicated to the Tribunal that the IL is anticipated to be rather short and that a five day hearing may be sufficient. Mr. Kagan suggested that given the City had ample time to finalize their IL and that waiting to schedule the merit hearing until 2024 could result in a later merit hearing, it would be appropriate and expeditious to schedule the hearing now.
6The Tribunal scheduled the five-day hearing to commence on, Monday, May 6, 2024, at 10 a.m. by video.
7The CMC and merit hearing are scheduled to proceed by video as follows:
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 10 a.m. GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/656004293 Access code: 656-004-293 Audio-only telephone line: (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889 or (647) 497-9373 Audio-only access code: 656-004-293
Monday, May 6, 2024, at 10 a.m. to Friday, May 10, 2024 GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/719383509 Access code: 719-383-509 Audio-only telephone line: (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889 or (647) 497-9373 Audio-only access code: 719-383-509
8Parties 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.
9Parties 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
10Persons 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.
11Individuals 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
12THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS the following:
a. That Ms. Sandra Silva is granted Participant Status;
b. The City will provide the Appellant with their Issues List no later than Wednesday, December 20, 2023;
c. The Parties will provide the Tribunal with the draft Procedural Order, complete with Issues List, by Friday, January 5, 2024;
d. A second Case Management Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 10 a.m