Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

CORRECTION NOTICE

OLT CASE NO(S).:

OLT-24-000598

DECISION ISSUE DATE(S):

October 29, 2024

CORRECTION NOTICE ISSUE DATE:

November 1, 2024

RE: Pangli v. Erin (Town)

Correction to: Appearances Section

Originally:

Corrected to:

Town of Erin David Water

Town of Erin David Neligan

“Euken Lui”

EUKEN LUI

REGISTRAR

Ontario Land Tribunal

Website: 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.

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE:

October 29, 2024

CASE NO(S).:

OLT-24-000598

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant:

Simarjit Pangli

Subject:

Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal

Description:

To permit a storage use within an existing building

Reference Number:

Z23-05

Property Address:

5397 Wellington Road 125

Municipality/UT:

Erin/Wellington

OLT Case No.:

OLT-24-000598

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-24-000598

OLT Case Name:

Pangli v. Erin (Town)

Heard:

September 27, 2024 by video hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel

Samarjit Pangli

Scott Galajda

Town of Erin

David Neligan

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. deboer ON september 27, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1The Tribunal convened a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) with respect to the appeal by Samarjit Pangli (“Appellant”) pursuant to s. 34(11) of the Planning Act due to the Town of Erin’s (“Town”) refusal of the Appellant’s Zoning By-law Amendment Application.

2The address pertaining to the appeal is municipally known as 5397 Wellington Road 125 in the Town of Erin.

3The purpose of the application would permit the conversion of a horse-riding arena to allow for indoor storage of items such as trailers, boats, automobiles, and tractors. The horse-riding area was constructed about 15 years ago and has a total floor area of approximately 780 square metres.

4The Affidavit of Service by Kim Stauttener dated August 22, 2024, was marked as Exhibit 1 to the hearing.

PARTY AND PARTICIPANT REQUESTS

5No persons made a request before nor during the CMC for either Party or Participant status.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESOLUTION

6The Parties stated that discussions have not occurred at this time, and it is too early in the process to discuss any form of mediation. The Parties confirmed that they were aware that Tribunal-led mediation was available if requested by the Parties.

PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST

7The Parties stated that a Procedural Order and Issues List was being finalized and the Parties agreed to send the Procedural Order to the Tribunal by October 11, 2024.

8Since the time of the CMC, the Tribunal has received the Procedural Order and approves of its contents.

SCHEDULING OF THE HEARING

9The Tribunal has scheduled a two-day Merit Hearing to occur by video hearing commencing on Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 10 a.m.

10Parties 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/687587165

Access code: 687-587-165

11Parties 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.

12Persons 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 687-587-165.

13Individuals 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 Video Hearing 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

14THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT a two-day Merit Hearing will occur on Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 10 a.m. by Video Hearing. The Procedural Order and Attachments thereto in Schedule 1 to this Decision will govern the procedures leading up to and including the Merit Hearing.

“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.

SCHEDULE 1

PROCEDURAL ORDER

ISSUE DATE: October 29, 2024 CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000598

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended:

Applicant/Appellant:

Simarjit Pangli

Subject:

Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal

Description:

To permit a storage use within an existing building

Municipality/UT:

Erin/Wellington

Municipal File No.:

Z23-05

Property Address:

5397 Wellington Road 125

OLT Case No.:

OLT-24-000598

OLT File No.:

OLT-24-000598

OLT Case Name (specify):

Pangli v. Erin (Town)

PROCEDURAL ORDER

1. The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this procedural order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.

Organization of the Hearing

2. The video hearing will begin on January 23, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. by video conference.

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is two (2) days. The parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible.

4. The procedural order deadlines are found in Attachment 1.

5. The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 2. (See the sample procedural order for the meaning of these terms in Attachment 5).

6. The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 3. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.

7. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 4 to this Order. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, evidence in chief (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on the parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.

8. Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible – ideally before the case management conference. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.

9. Any person who intends to participate in the hearing, including parties, counsel and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website.

Requirements Before the Hearing

10. A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of the witnesses and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before November 4, 2024 and in accordance with paragraph 23 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.

11. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before November 22, 2024 and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. Following the experts’ meeting the parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before November 29, 2024.

12. An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 14 below. Instead of a witness statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.

13. Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an expert witness statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence as in paragraph 14 below. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in paragraph 14 below.

14. On or before December 20, 2024, the parties shall provide copies of their [witness and] expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 23 below.

15. On or before December 20, 2024, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 23 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

16. On or before January 8, 2025 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

17. On or before January 16, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

18. Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before January 13, 2025 in accordance with paragraph 23 below.

19. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before January 16, 2025.

20. A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.

21. A party who provides written evidence of a witness to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.

22. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before January 16, 2025 with a proposed schedule for the hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the parties participating in the hearing, the preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in chief, cross-examination and re-examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The parties are expected to ensure that the hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the hearing plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the hearing plan at any time in the course of the hearing.

23. All filings shall be submitted electronically and in hard copy. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7.

24. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

BEFORE:

Name of Member:

Date:

TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR

ATTACHMENT 1

SUMMARY OF DATES

DATE

EVENT

November 4, 2024

Exchange of witness lists (names, disciplines and order to be called)

November 22, 2024

Experts meeting prior to this date, if any

November 29, 2024

Agreed Statement of Facts, if any

December 20, 2024

Exchange of Witness Statements, summoned witness outlines, Expert Reports and Participant Statements

January 13, 2025

Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)

January 8, 2025

Confirm if reserved hearing dates still required

January 16, 2025

Exchange of visual evidence (if any)

January 16, 2025

Finalize Joint Document Book

January 16, 2025

Hearing Plan filed with the Tribunal

January 23, 2025

Hearing commences

ATTACHMENT 2

PARTIES

1. Simarit Pangli

Scott Galajda

150 Research Lane, Suite 205

Guelph, ON N1G 4T2

Email: sgalajda@galajdalaw.com

Lawyers for the Applicant/Appellant

2. Town of Erin

David Neligan

Aird & Berlis LLP

181 Bay Street, Suite 1800

Toronto, ON M5J 2T9

Emails: dneligan@airdberlis.com

Lawyers for the Town of Erin

ATTACHMENT 3

ISSUES LIST

NOTE: The identification of an issue on the Issues List does not constitute an acknowledgement by the OLT or any party that such issue, or the manner in which the issue is expressed, is either appropriate or relevant to the determination of the OLT at the hearing. The extent to which these issues are appropriate or relevant to the determination of the OLT at the hearing will be a matter of evidence and argument at the hearing. The identification of an issue on this list by a party indicates that party’s intent to lead evidence or argue that the issue is relevant to the proceeding, for the purpose of fairly identifying to the other parties the case they need to meet and shall not be construed as the OLT having jurisdiction over such matters in each circumstance. Accordingly, no party shall advance an issue not identified on the Issues List without leave of the OLT.

Town of Erin Issues

1. Is the proposed development consistent with the policies of the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, including the following policies:

a. Policy 1.1.1(c) – Healthy, liveable and safe communities

b. Policy 1.1.5.2 – Rural Lands, permitted uses

c. Policy 1.1.5.4 – Development that is compatible with the rural landscape and can be sustained by rural services levels should be promoted.

d. Policy 1.1.5.7 – Opportunities to support a diversified rural economy should be promoted by protecting agricultural and other resource-related uses and directing non-related development to areas where it will minimize constraints on these uses.

2. Does the proposed development conform to the policies of the County of Wellington Official Plan, including the following policies:

a. Policy 6.5.3 – Permitted Uses

b. Policy 6.5.5 – Commercial, Industrial and Institutional

c. Policy 13.3 – Zoning By-laws

3. Does the proposed development conform to the policies of the Town of Erin Official Plan, including the following policies:

a. 4.2.1 – Agricultural Overview

b. 4.2.3 – Secondary Agricultural Areas

c. 4.7.9 – Home Occupations

4. Does the proposed development conform to the policies of the Town of Erin Zoning By-law, including the following:

a. Section 4.17 – Home Industries

b. Section 4.18 – Home Occupations

c. Section 5.1 – Agricultural

d. Section 9 – Requirements for Industrial Zone

5. Does the proposed development constitute good planning in the public interest?

Appellant Issues

1. Does the Zoning By-law Amendment for the subject lands have appropriate regard for the relevant matters of provincial interest enumerated in section 2 of the Planning Act?

2. Does the Zoning By-law Amendment meet the intent of policies of a small scale commercial or industrial use in the County Official Plan for lands designated as Secondary Agricultural?

3. Does the Zoning By-law Amendment meet the intent of policies of a small scale commercial or industrial use in the Town Official Plan for lands designated as Secondary Agricultural?

4. Does the development proposal represent good land use planning and is it in the public interest?

(a)

ATTACHMENT 4

ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Simarit Pangli

2. Town of Erin

3. Simarit Pangli (in reply, if necessary)

(b)

ATTACHMENT 5

PURPOSE OF THE PROCEDURAL ORDER AND MEANING OF TERMS

Meaning of terms used in the Procedural Order:

A party is an individual or corporation permitted by the Tribunal to participate fully in the hearing by receiving copies of written evidence, presenting witnesses, cross-examining the witnesses of the other parties, and making submissions on all of the evidence. An unincorporated group cannot be a party and it must appoint one person to speak for it, and that person must accept the other responsibilities of a party as set out in the Order. Parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer and may have an agent speak for them. The agent must have written authorization from the party.

NOTE that a person who wishes to become a party before or at the hearing, and who did not request this at the case management conference (CMC), must ask the Tribunal to permit this.

A participant is an individual or corporation, whether represented by a lawyer or not, who may make a written submission to the Tribunal. A participant cannot make an oral submission to the Tribunal or present oral evidence (testify in-person) at the hearing (only a party may do so). Section 17 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Act states that a person who is not a party to a proceeding may only make a submission to the Tribunal in writing. The Tribunal may direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions from the Tribunal on the content of their written submission, should that be found necessary by the Tribunal. A participant may also be asked questions by the parties should the Tribunal direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions on the content of their written submission.

A participant must be identified and be accorded participant status by the Tribunal at the CMC. A participant will not receive notice of conference calls on procedural issues that may be scheduled prior to the hearing, nor receive notice of mediation. A participant cannot ask for costs, or review of a decision, as a participant does not have the rights of a party to make such requests of the Tribunal.

Written evidence includes all written material, reports, studies, documents, letters and witness statements which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing. These must have pages numbered consecutively throughout the entire document, even if there are tabs or dividers in the material.

Visual evidence includes photographs, maps, videos, models, and overlays which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing.

A witness statement is a short written outline of the person’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which he or she will discuss ; and a list of reports or materials that the witness will rely on at the hearing.

An expert witness statement should include his or her (1) name and address, (2) qualifications, (3) a list of the issues he or she will address, (4) the witness’ opinions on those issues and the complete reasons supporting their opinions and conclusions and (5) a list of reports or materials that the witness will rely on at the hearing. An expert witness statement must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of expert’s duty.

A participant statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a statement of the participant’s position on the appeal; a list of the issues which the participant wishes to address and the submissions of the participant on those issues; and a list of reports or materials, if any, which the participant wishes to refer to in their statement.

Additional Information

A summons may compel the appearance of a person before the Tribunal who has not agreed to appear as a witness. A party must ask a Tribunal Member or the senior staff of the Tribunal to issue a summons through a request. (See [Rule 13](https://olt.gov.on.ca/about-olt/law-policy/) on the summons procedure.) The request should indicate how the witness’ evidence is relevant to the hearing. If the Tribunal is not satisfied from the information provided in the request that the evidence is relevant, necessary or admissible, the party requesting the summons may provide a further request with more detail or bring a motion in accordance with the Rules.

The order of examination of witnesses is usually direct examination, cross-examination and re-examination in the following way:

• direct examination by the party presenting the witness;

• direct examination by any party of similar interest, in the manner determined by the Tribunal;

• cross-examination by parties of opposite interest;

• re-examination by the party presenting the witness; or

• another order of examination mutually agreed among the parties or directed by the Tribunal.

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