Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 29, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000020
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 29(11) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, as amended
Appellant: Stanislaus Goveas
Subject: Refusal of Application
Description: Objection to designation By-Law
Reference Number: By-law #23-56
Property Location: 92 Trafalgar Road
Municipality/UT: Erin/Wellington
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000020
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000020
OLT Case Name: Goveas v. Erin (Town)
Heard: November 5, 2024 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Stanislaus Goveas ("Applicant/Appellant") | Harjinder Chahal |
| Town of Erin | Alexandra Whyte Brendan Ruddick (in absentia) |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY L.P. YOU AND J. INNIS ON NOVEMBER 5, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This is the first Case Management Conference ("CMC") respecting an appeal by Stanislaus Goveas ("Applicant/Appellant") under section 29(11) of the Ontario Heritage Act regarding the Town of Erin's By-law No. 23-56 approved on November 23, 2023, designating the lands known municipally as, 92 Trafalgar Road, as Heritage.
Service of Notice of CMC
2There is no issue with service of the Notice of this CMC, and so no further notice is required. The Tribunal is in receipt of the Affidavit of Service from Justin Grainger, which is marked as Exhibit 1.
Requests for Status
3The Tribunal received no written request nor did anyone attend seeking either Party or Participant status.
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT
4The Tribunal explored the possibility of mediation and settlement with the parties. The Parties agreed to keep the Tribunal apprised of any resolution efforts, which the Tribunal find satisfactory.
PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
5The Tribunal received and reviewed a Draft Procedural Order from the Parties. The Tribunal finds it acceptable, and the proceedings shall be governed by it (see Attachment 1).
HEARING
6Upon request of the parties, the Tribunal set a three-day hearing commencing on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 to Friday, March 21, 2025 at 10 a.m. by video hearing.
7Parties 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:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/687587165
Access code: 687-587-165
8Parties 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
9Persons 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.
10Individuals 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
11The Tribunal Orders that:
- the date and particulars of the hearing are set out above; and,
- the Procedural Order appended as Attachment 1 shall govern the proceedings.
12The Panel is not seized but may be spoken to through the Case Coordinator if any issues arise.
13No further notice is required.
"L.P. You"
L.P. You MEMBER
"J. Innis"
J. Innis 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.
ATTACHMENT 1 Procedural Order
ISSUE DATE: November 29, 2024 CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000020
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 29(11) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O. 18, as amended
Appellant: Stanislaus Goveas Subject: Refusal of Application Description: Objection to designation By-Law Reference Number: By-law #23-56 Property Location: 92 Trafalgar Road Municipality/UT: Erin/Wellington OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000020 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000020 OLT Case Name: Goveas v. Erin (Town)
- 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 video hearing will begin on March 19 at 10 a.m.
The parties' initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 3 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.
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.
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.
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
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 Thursday, January 23, 2025 and in accordance with paragraph 22 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.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before Friday, February 7, 2025 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 Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
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 13 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.
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 13 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 13 below.
On or before Monday, February 3, 2025, 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 22 below.
On or before Monday, February 3, 2025, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
On or before Wednesday, February 12, 2025, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before Monday, March 10, 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.
Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before Thursday, February 27, 2025, and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before Monday, March 10, 2025.
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.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Wednesday, March 12, 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.
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.
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: Lyndsy You and Jennifer Innis Date: November 20, 2024
TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR
ATTACHMENT 1
LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS
PARTIES:
LOOPSTRA NIXON LLP 100 New Park Place, Suite 303 Vaughan, ON L4K 0J3
Brendan Ruddick bruddick@LN.law
Alexandra Whyte awhyte@LN.law
Lawyers for the Corporation of the Town of Erin
Harjinder Chahal Barrister and Solicitor 81 Zenway Blvd., Unit 15, 2nd Floor Vaughan, ON L4H 0S5
Harjinder Chahal hclaw@hclawchambers.com
Lawyers for Stanislaus Goveas
PARTICIPANTS:
N/A
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.
Did the Town provide the requisite notice of the Town's intention to designate the lands municipally known as 92 Trafalgar Road as a property of cultural heritage value or interest?
Does the property at 92 Trafalgar Road meet the criteria established by s. 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act to be designated as a property of cultural heritage value or interest?
ATTACHMENT 3
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
- Town of Erin
- Stanislaus Goveas
- Reply by Town of Erin