ISSUE DATE: November 21, 2024
CASE NO.: OLT-24-000398
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: St. Lawrence Developments Ltd.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit three connected towers for residential and retail commercial use
Reference Number: 14 241637 WET 05 OZ
Property Address: 40-60 St. Lawrence Avenue
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000398
OLT Case Name: St. Lawrence Developments Ltd. v. City of Toronto
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: St. Lawrence Developments Ltd.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit three connected towers for residential and retail commercial use
Reference Number: 14 241637 WET 05 OZ
Property Address: 40-60 St. Lawrence Avenue
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000399
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000398
OLT Case Name: St. Lawrence Developments Ltd. v. City of Toronto
BEFORE:
MARY ANNE SILLS MEMBER
Thursday, the 21st day of November, 2024
THESE MATTERS in respect of the lands at 40-60 St. Lawrence Avenue in the City of Toronto, having come for a Case Management Conference on August 6, 2024, before the Ontario Land Tribunal (the "Tribunal");
AND THE TRIBUNAL having issued a Procedural Order on August 9, 2024.
AND THE TRIBUNAL having, on consent of the parties, received a request to amend Paragraph 10 to alter the deadline date to provide copies of revised proposals, plans, drawings, proposed instruments, updated supporting documents and reports, to the other Parties from December 10, 2024, to January 6, 2025.
NOW THEREFORE
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the deadline to submit documents, if the applicant intends to seek approval of a revised proposal at the hearing, be amended from December 10, 2024, to January 6, 2025.
AND THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order issued on August 9, 2024, is hereby rescinded and the Procedural Order attached hereto as Attachment 1 is hereby in full force and effect.
"Euken Lui"
EUKEN LUI ACTING 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.
ATTACHMENT 1
CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000398
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: St. Lawrence Developments Limited
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit three connected towers for residential and retail commercial use
Reference Number: 14 241637 WET 05 OZ
Property Address: 40-60 St. Lawrence Avenue
Municipality: Toronto
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000398
OLT Case Name: St. Lawrence Developments Limited v. City of Toronto
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: St. Lawrence Developments Limited
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit three connected towers for residential and retail commercial use
Reference Number: 14 241637 WET 05 OZ
Property Address: 40-60 St. Lawrence Avenue
Municipality: Toronto
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000399
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000398
OLT Case Name: St. Lawrence Developments Limited v. City of Toronto
- 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
The hearing will commence on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 10 a.m.
The parties' initial estimation for the length of the hearing is seven (7) 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.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. 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. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Issues List may be amended on the consent of the parties to remove Issues that are resolved or no longer relevant.
The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3 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.
The purpose of this Procedural Order and the meaning of the terms used in it are set out in Attachment 4.
Any person intending to participate in the hearing shall provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible. 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.
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
If the applicant intends to seek approval of a revised proposal at the hearing, the applicant shall provide copies of the revised proposal, including all revised plans, drawings, proposed instruments, updated supporting documents and reports, to the other Parties on or before Monday, January 6, 2024. The applicant acknowledges that any revisions to the proposal after that date without the consent of the Parties may be grounds for the Tribunal to adjourn the hearing.
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, the expert witness(es)' curriculum vitae and Acknowledgment of Expert Duty form(s), and the order in which they will be called. This material must be delivered on or before Tuesday, January 14, 2025 (one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the start date of the hearing). For expert witnesses, a party is to identify the area of expertise in which the witness is proposed to be qualified. Any challenges to the witness, including qualifications of a witness to give opinion evidence in the area of expertise proposed, shall be made by motion in accordance with the Tribunal's Rules of Practice and Procedure and notice of same must be served on the parties on or before Monday, February 3, 2025 (one hundred (100) days prior to the start date of the hearing).
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have at least one meeting before the hearing to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. The experts shall prepare a list of any agreed facts and the remaining issues to be addressed at the hearing and provide this list to all of the parties and the Tribunal on or before Monday, February 24, 2025 (79 days prior to the start date of the hearing).
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. 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. For greater certainty, each expert witness statement must comply with the minimum content requirements specified in Rule 7 of the Tribunal's Rules of Practice and Procedure. If the expert witness has prepared any report(s) that they intend to rely on at the hearing, and which did not form part of the submissions made to the City, such report(s) shall be provided to the parties at the same time as the delivery of witness statements as in paragraph 14.
A witness (including any expert witness) or participant must provide to the Tribunal and the parties a witness statement (full disclosure including reports) or participant statement, respectively, on or before Monday, March 10, 2025 (sixty-five (65) days days prior to the start date of the hearing), or the witness may not give oral evidence at the hearing. Participants are only permitted to provide written evidence to the Tribunal, except as permitted by the Ontario Land Tribunal Act, 2021 and the Tribunal's Rules of Practice and Procedure.
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.
On or before Friday, March 28, 2025 (forty-seven (47) days days prior to the start date of the hearing), the parties may provide to all other parties a written response to any written evidence.
On or before Friday, March 28, 2025 (forty-seven (47) days prior to the start date of the hearing), the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before Monday, April 14, 2025 (thirty (30) days prior to the start date of the hearing), the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 23 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.
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.
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.
On or before Monday, April 14, 2025 (thirty (30) days days prior to the start date of the hearing), the parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal 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.
The parties shall prepare a Joint Document Book on or before Thursday, April 24, 2025 (twenty (20) days days prior to the start date of the hearing), and which, if requested by the Tribunal, one (1) hard copy will be filed with the Tribunal as soon as practicable in advance of the Hearing. All parties must be served with the Joint Document Book in paper or an accessible electronic format in accordance with paragraph 23.
All filing of documents and materials shall be electronic to the Tribunal, the parties and participants. The Tribunal will be provided a hard copy of documents and materials in advance of the hearing event as soon as practicable should it request same. 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. All documents to be filed with the Tribunal shall be organized, tabbed and digitally searchable and such materials will be filed in accordance with directions contained in the Tribunal's Video Hearing Guide, or as may be amended. Paragraph 23 applies regardless if the hearing event is in-person or electronic.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness or as permitted in paragraph 10. The Tribunal's Rule 17 applies to such requests.
A summary of the various procedural dates is contained in Attachment 5.
This Member is [not] seized.
So orders the Tribunal.
ATTACHMENT 1
LIST OF PARTIES / PARTICIPANTS
Parties:
St. Lawrence Developments Limited Aird & Berlis LLP Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 1800 Toronto ON M5J 2T9
Eileen Costello Tel: 416.865.4740 Email: ecostello@airdberlis.com
Matthew Helfand Tel: 416.865.4624 Email: mhelfand@airdberlis.com
City of Toronto Planning & Administrative Tribunal Law Legal Services 55 John Street 26th Floor – Metro Hall Toronto ON M5V 3C6
Jessica Amey Tel: 416.397.1890 Email: Jessica.Amey@toronto.ca
Jamie Dexter Tel: 416.394.2799 Email: Jamie.Dexter@toronto.ca
ATTACHMENT 2
ISSUES LIST
NOTE: The identification of an issue on the Issues List does not constitute an acknowledgement by the Tribunal or any Party that the issue is relevant or appropriate, or that the Tribunal has jurisdiction over it. The identification of an issue by a Party indicates that Party's intent to tender evidence and/or make submissions on it, for the purpose of fairly identifying to the other Parties the case they need to meet. No Party shall make submissions or tender evidence on an issue not identified on the Issues List without leave of the Tribunal.
CITY OF TORONTO ISSUES LIST 40-60 St. Lawrence Avenue ZBA/OPA OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000398/399
Issue 1 – Planning Act. Do the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments have regard for the matters of provincial interest set out in Section 2 of the Planning Act, including subsections 2(f), (h), (h.1), (j), (q) and (r)?
Issue 2 - Provincial Policy Statement. Are the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, including sections 1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.2.6, and 4.6?
Issue 3 – A Place to Grow – Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020). Do the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments conform to and not conflict with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020), including sections 1.2.1, 2.2.1, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.6 and 3.2.7?
Issue 4 – City of Toronto Official Plan. Is the proposed amendment to the Official Plan consistent with the general intent of the Official Plan? Does the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment conform with the applicable policies of the City of Toronto Official Plan including: a. Structuring Growth in the City: Integrating Land use and Transportation (2.2), including 2.2 (2) and 2.2.4 (5); b. Avenues: Reurbanizing Arterial Corridors (2.2.3); c. The Public Realm (3.1.1), including 3.1.1 (2), (3), (4), (8), (12), (13), (14), and (16); d. Built Form (3.1.3 & 3.1.4), including 3.1.3 (1), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), and (13) and 3.1.4 (1), (10), (11), and (12); e. Mixed Use Areas (4.5), including 4.5 (2); f. Implementation (5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.3.1, 5.3.2 and 5.6); and g. Site and Area Specific Policy 6?
Issue 5 – City of Toronto Guidelines. Does the proposed development have appropriate regard for and meet the intent and purpose of applicable City of Toronto Guidelines and standards including but not limited to Tall Building Design Guidelines, Growing Up: Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities Guidelines, Pet Friendly Design Guidelines for High Density Communities and Toronto Green Standard?
Issue 6 – Height and Density. Is the development's proposed height and density appropriate in the existing and planned context?
Issue 7 – Transition in scale. Does the proposed development provide good transition between areas of different intensity and scale, particularly to areas of lower mid-rise building scale and performance along The Queensway and the Avenue?
Issue 8 – Site Organization. Is the proposed development's site organization appropriate?
Issue 9 – Built Form, Massing, and Design a. Is the proposed development's built form appropriate, specifically the height and massing of the proposed mechanical penthouses? b. Are the shadow impacts from the proposed development acceptable? c. Are the wind impacts from the proposed development acceptable?
Issue 10 – Amenity Space. Is the proposed development's provision and location of indoor and outdoor amenity space appropriate?
Issue 11 – Streetscape and Landscape. a. Does the proposal provide appropriate landscaping on the site, and, in particular, does the development provide appropriately sized pedestrian clearways, tree canopy and tree planting conditions, weather protection, ground floor animation, and space for pedestrian and vehicular circulation? b. Do the landscape plans meet City of Toronto standards for tree compensation and street tree planting with adequate spacing, species, clearances, soil volume and soil depth?
Issue 12 – Traffic Impact, Access, Parking, and Loading. a. Does the proposed development appropriately address future conditions for surrounding intersections, site circulation, access, parking, parking functionality, parking supply and dimensions, vehicle maneuvering, and related concerns in accordance with the City of Toronto guidelines? b. Does the proposed development provide appropriate land conveyances for required road widenings?
Issue 13 – Servicing. Has it been demonstrated that there are adequate municipal services in place to support the proposed development? Is there adequate sanitary, storm and water capacity available to allow for adequate water pressure, and appropriate stormwater and groundwater management?
Issue 14 – Public Interest and Good Planning. Do the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments provide for good planning and good urban design and are they in the public interest?
Issue 15 - Implementation. In the event the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments are approved in whole or in part, should the Tribunal's Order be withheld until the following conditions are satisfied and the Tribunal has received confirmation from the City Solicitor that:
- The final form and content of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments are satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the City Solicitor;
- The owner has submitted a Functional Servicing Report to determine the stormwater runoff, sanitary flow and water supply demand resulting from this development and whether there is adequate capacity in the existing municipal infrastructure to accommodate the proposed development, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;
- The owner has made satisfactory arrangements with Engineering and Construction Services and has entered into the appropriate agreement(s) with the City for the design and construction of any improvements to the municipal infrastructure, should it be determined that upgrades are required to the infrastructure to support this development, according to the accepted Servicing Assessment Report accepted by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;
- The owner has addressed all outstanding issues identified in the Engineering and Construction Services' correspondence, dated September 13, 2023, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;
- The owner has provided a revised Transportation Impact Study to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;
- The owner has submitted a revised Hydrological Assessment Report and Hydrological Review Summary Form, Servicing Report Groundwater Summary Form, and Foundation Drainage Summary Form to determine the quality and quantity of groundwater that may be required to be discharged to the City sewage works as a result of the proposed development and comply with Foundation Drainage Policy and guidelines to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water;
- The owner has provided a revised Pedestrian Level Wind Study including a Wind Tunnel Study, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;
- The submitted Compatibility and Mitigation Studies, including the Transportation Noise and Vibration Assessment, dated May 5, 2023, prepared by Gradient Wind Engineering Inc., and the Air Quality and Land Use Compatibility Assessment, dated May 5, 2023, prepared by Gradient Wind Engineering Inc. have been peer-reviewed by a third-party consultant retained by the City at the owner's expense, and the owner agrees to implement any necessary control measures and recommendations identified by the peer review, with the control measures to be secured through the Site Plan Control process, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and
- The owner has addressed all outstanding issues raised by Urban Forestry, Tree Protection and Plan Review, as they relate to the application, to the satisfaction of the General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation?
ATTACHMENT 3
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
- St. Lawrence Developments Limited
- City of Toronto
- St. Lawrence Developments Limited, in reply (if any)
ATTACHMENT 4
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 authorisation 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 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.
ATTACHMENT 5
SUMMARY OF DATES
DATE
EVENT
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 (90 days before Witness Statement Date)
Last date to provide copies of revised proposal, including all revised plans and drawings (if any)
Tuesday, January 14, 2025 (120 days prior to hearing)
Exchange of witness lists (names, disciplines and order to be called)
Monday, February 3, 2025 (100 days prior to hearing)
Last date to challenge identification of expert witness
Monday, February 24, 2025 (79 days prior to hearing)
Experts meeting prior to this date
Monday, February 24, 2025 (79 days prior to hearing)
Agreed Statement of Facts
Monday, March 10, 2025 (65 days prior to hearing)
Exchange of Witness Statements, summoned witness outlines, Expert Reports and Participant Statements
Friday, March 28, 2025 (47 days prior to hearing)
Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)
Friday, March 28, 2025 (47 days prior to hearing)
Parties to advise Tribunal if any hearing dates are to be released from the hearing calendar
Monday, April 14, 2025 (30 days prior to hearing)
Exchange of visual evidence (if any)
Monday, April 14, 2025 (30 days prior to hearing)
Final Hearing Plan filed with the Tribunal
Thursday, April 24, 2025 (20 days prior to hearing)
Finalize Joint Document Book
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Hearing commences (7 days)

