Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 13, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-001114
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Praesentia Capital Corp.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt requested amendment
Description: To permit the development of 122 residential units
Reference Number: OPA No. 41
Property Address: 50 Bruce Street
Municipality/UT: City of Welland/Niagara Region
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001114
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-001114
OLT Case Name: Praesentia Capital Corp. v. City of Welland
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Praesentia Capital Corp.
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 2017-117 – Refusal or neglect of City of Welland to make a decision
Description: To permit the development of 122 residential units
Reference Number: By-law No. 2022-01
Property Address: 50 Bruce Street
Municipality/UT: City of Welland/Niagara Region
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001115
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-001114
Heard: October 28, 2024 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Praesentia Capital Corp. ("Appellant" / "Applicant") | Russell Cheeseman, Stephanie Fleming |
| City of Welland | Callum Shedden |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY L.P. YOU and S. BRAUN ON october 28, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Link to the Order
BACKGROUND
1The matter before the Tribunal is an appeal by Praesentia Capital Corp. (“Appellant” / “Applicant”) against the City of Welland’s (“City”) failure to adopt a requested Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and make a decision on a Zoning By-Law Amendment (“ZBA”) for the property known municipally as 50 Bruce Street ("Subject Lands”).
2The original proposal was filed with the City in August 2022. The Statutory Public Meeting was held on September 20, 2022. Following this meeting, the Applicant provided a revised submission addressing the comments from the public and Council on February 10, 2023. City Staff recommended approval of the revised submissions in their Report P&B2023-20 (“Report”) but the City Council refused to approve the revised applications and requested further modifications.
3The Appellant filed an appeal on July 14, 2023 and the matter was originally scheduled to be heard over five-days beginning Monday, October 28, 2024. However, in advance of the Hearing, the Parties advised that they had arrived at an agreement to settle the appeals and, accordingly, at the request of the Parties, the Tribunal scheduled this one-day hearing for the purposes of considering the settlement proposal.
4The Tribunal received a Joint Document Book dated October 28, 2024 (Exhibit 1), which includes the Affidavit of Rachelle Larocque, sworn October 22, 2024. The Tribunal also received executed Minutes of Settlement between the Appellant and the City dated September 13, 2024 (Exhibit 2).
EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF THE SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL
5In support of the proposed settlement, the Tribunal reviewed the sworn Affidavit from, and heard the oral evidence of, Ms. Larocque, a full Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (“CIP”), a Member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (“OPPI”), and a Registered Professional Planner (Ontario) with over 18-years of professional land use planning experience. Ms. Larocque is presently a Partner at The Biglieri Group. Based on the foregoing, the Tribunal qualified the planning witness to provide opinion evidence in Land Use Planning. The presently vacant Subject Lands are approximately 1.27 hectares in size and located within the City’s urban boundary. They are designated as “Built Boundary & Built Up Area” on Schedule A and “Light Industrial” and “Low Density Residential” on Schedule B of the City’s Official Plan (“COP”) and zoned Light Industrial (L1) and Residential Low Density 2 (RL2), in the City’s Zoning By-law No. 2017-117 (“ZBL”). Surrounding the Subject Lands are properties zoned Open Space (OS) and Institutional (G1) to the north, Residential Low Density 2 (RL2) to the south and west and Institutional (INS1) to the south.
6The proposed OPA would redesignate the Subject Lands to Special Policy Medium Density Residential with a density of 96 units per hectare to permit a residential development consisting of stacked townhouses and street townhouses. The proposed ZBA seeks to rezone the Subject Lands to Residential Medium (RM) along with site specific amendments to minimum setbacks to implement the proposed development.
7Ms. Larocque opined that the proposed OPA and ZBA represent good planning, have appropriate regard for matters of provincial interest, are consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement 2024 (“PPS 2024") and conform with the Region of Niagara Official Plan (“ROP”). She further opined that the ZBL conforms with the COP, and the OPA which seeks to amend the COP, aligns with the overall intent thereof.
8She explained the Subject Lands, formerly used as a lumber yard, are a “brownfield” site and a Record of Site Condition has been issued which confirms potential contaminants have been removed therefrom. She further explained that, although the Subject Lands are partially designated for employment uses, they are surrounded by residential and institutional uses resulting in potential land use conflicts, which severely restrict the use of these lands for employment purposes.
9Given the foregoing, Ms. Larocque opined that the Subject Lands are ideal for residential development and the proposal, which will introduce a new medium density housing form in a neighbourhood dominated by single-detached dwellings, aligns with policies that promote redevelopment of brownfield sites, efficient use of land and resources and the provision of a range of housing options. She noted that there is sufficient infrastructure to support the proposed density, that the proposed heights and built forms are compatible with the surrounding neighbourhood and proposed minimum setbacks and buffers will mitigate impacts upon existing homes.
10She further opined that requested redesignation of the Subject Lands would not impact the City’s ability to achieve their overall employment targets but would aid in the achievement of the City’s intensification target by increasing the residential density within the City’s Built-Up area.
11The Tribunal accepts the uncontested opinion evidence of Ms. Larocque as presented in her Affidavit and at the hearing, and finds that the proposed OPA and ZBA, meet all of the necessary legislative tests and overall, are representative of good land use planning in the public interest.
ORDER
12The Tribunal orders that the appeal is allowed, in part, and the Amendment to the Official Plan of the Corporation of the City of Welland is hereby approved in accordance with Attachment 1 to this Order.
13The Tribunal further orders that Zoning By-law Amendment No. 2017-117 is hereby amended in accordance with Attachment 2 to this Order.
14The Tribunal authorizes the municipal clerk of the Corporation of the City of Welland to format the instruments as necessary and assign a number to the By-law for record keeping purposes.
“L.P. You”
L.P. YOU MEMBER
“S. Braun”
S. BRAUN VICE-CHAIR
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.
ATTACHMENT 1
ATTACHMENT 2