SNAM Investment Group Inc. v. Grimsby (Town), 2024 CanLII 120532

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: November 29, 2024

CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000754

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: SNAM Investment Group Inc.

Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment

Description: To permit a Residential High-Rise Development of 548 units

Reference Number: 26OP-16-2303

Property Address: 540-544 North Service Road

Municipality/UT: Grimsby/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000754

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000754

OLT Case Name: SNAM Investment Group Inc. v. Grimsby (Town)

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

Applicant and Appellant: SNAM Investment Group Inc.

Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision

Description: To permit a Residential High-Rise Development of 548 units

Reference Number: 26Z-16-2303

Property Address: 540-544 North Service Road

Municipality/UT: Grimsby/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000755

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000754

Heard: October 29, 2024 by Video Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel

SNAM Investment Group Inc.

Russell Cheeseman Stephanie Fleming

Town of Grimsby

Tom Halinski

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. Dixon ON October 29, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This Decision and Order arises from the first case management conference (“CMC”) held regarding appeals filed by SNAM Investment Group Inc. pursuant to ss. 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended, concerning official plan amendment and zoning by-law amendment applications (“Applications”) in the Town of Grimsby (“Town”) for lands municipally known as 540-544 North Service Road (“Subject Lands”).

2Town Council refused the Applications, which seek to facilitate the development of a high-rise residential building containing 548 units on the Subject Lands.

NOTICE

3The Tribunal was in receipt of an Affidavit of Service sworn by Darlene Hornsby on September 27, 2024, which was marked as Exhibit 1. There were no concerns with the service of notice for the CMC and as such, no further notice is required in these proceedings.

STATUS REQUESTS

4There were no requests for party or participant status at the CMC.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SETTLEMENT

5The Parties advised the Tribunal that they are open to mediation, including Tribunal-led mediation, but have yet to meet in that regard. Should the Parties decide that Tribunal-led mediation would be of assistance, they will contact the Tribunal’s case coordinator to initiate that process.

PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST

6The Parties submitted a draft procedural order (“DPO”) and issues list (“IL”) to the Tribunal in advance of the CMC, which were generally acceptable to the Tribunal. The DPO and IL were updated by the Parties following the CMC and resubmitted to the Tribunal on November 18, 2024. They are hereby approved by the Tribunal in the form attached to this Decision and Order as Schedule 1.

HEARING DATES

7The Parties requested that 10 days be set aside for a hearing on the merits of the appeals, noting the number and types of witnesses that will likely be called upon to provide evidence.

8The Tribunal found this to be a reasonable request and scheduled a video hearing commencing Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 10 a.m. 10 consecutive business days, concluding on Monday, May 5, 2025, have been set aside for the hearing.

9Parties are asked to log in to the video hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:

GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/680885805

Access Code: 680-885-805

10Parties 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.

11Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1-647-497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The access code is as indicated above.

12Individuals 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

13THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order attached hereto as Schedule 1 is approved and shall govern the remainder of these proceedings.

14No further notice is required.

15This Member is not seized.

“S. Dixon”

s. dixon

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

CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000754

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant & Appellant: SNAM Investment Group Inc.

Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment

Description: To permit a Residential High-Rise Development of 548 units

Reference Number: 26OP-16-2303

Property Address: 540 – 544 North Service Road

Municipality/Upper Tier: Grimsby/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000754

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000754

OLT Case Name: SNAM Investment Group Inc. v Grimsby (Town)

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

Applicant & Appellant: SNAM Investment Group Inc.

Subject: Application to amend the Zoning B y-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision

Description: To permit a Residential High-Rise Development of 548 units

Reference Number: 26Z-16-2303

Property Address: 540-544 North Service Road

Municipality/Upper Tier: Grimsby/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000755

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000754

OLT Case Name: SNAM Investment Group Inc. v Grimsby (Town)

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 Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is ten (10) 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 parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1 (see the sample procedural order for the meaning of these terms).

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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 Friday, January 24, 2025 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.

10. 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 Friday, January 17, 2025. The applicant acknowledges that any revisions to the proposal after that date without the consent of the Parties may be grounds for a request to adjourn the hearing.

11. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before Friday, February 14, 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 Friday, February 28, 2025.

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 Friday, March 7, 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 23 below.

15. On or before Friday, March 7, 2025, 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 Tuesday, March 18, 2025 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

17. On or before Friday, April 11, 2025, 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.

18. Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before Friday, April 4, 2025, and in accordance with paragraph 22 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 Friday, April 11, 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 Monday, April 15, 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. 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.

Summary of Procedural Dates

Date Event

Friday, January 24, 2025 Witness List

Friday, February 14, 2025 Final day for expert witness meeting

Friday, February 28, 2025 Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues filed

Friday, March 7, 2025 Expert witness and witness statements due

Friday, March 7, 2025 Written participant statement due

Friday, April 4, 2025 Response to written evidence due

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Hearing date confirmation

Friday, April 11, 2025 Visual evidence due

Friday, April 11, 2025 Joint Document Book due

Monday, April 15, 2025 Preliminary hearing plan due

Tuesday, April 22, 2025 Hearing

Attachment 1

List of Parties and Participants

1. SNAM Investment Group Inc. Russell D. Cheeseman & Stephanie Fleming Municipal Law Chambers rdcheese@aol.com sfleming@mlawc.com

2. Town of Grimsby Tom Halinski thalinski@airdberlis.com

Attachment 2

Issues List

Town of Grimsby Issues List SNAAM Investment Group Inc. 26OP-16-2303 and 26Z-16-2303

1. Are the applications consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024)?
2. Do the applications conform with the Region of Niagara Official Plan?
3. Do the applications conform with the Town of Grimsby Official Plan including policies 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3.2, 2.4, 2.5.5, 2.6, 3.1.1, 3.4, 3.4.5, 3.4.7, 5.4, 5.5, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3.2 and 11.3.3?
4. Do the applications represent good planning?
5. Would the applications provide an appropriate contribution to the achievement of the Town’s economic objectives?
6. Would the applications remove a strategic site for employment uses?
7. Do the applications provide for an appropriate mix of uses, in that they include no employment uses?
8. Are the applications appropriate from the perspective of height, massing, scale and orientation of the buildings?
9. Would the proposal result in unacceptable shadow impacts?
10. Are the applications compatible with the surrounding community in terms of massing and form?
11. Do the applications represent good compatibility with, transition to, and integration into the adjacent neighbourhood?
12. Do the applications represent good urban design?
13. Do the applications provide for an unacceptable encroachment into the natural heritage system?
14. Do the applications provide adequate parking and conform with the Town of Grimsby Zoning By-law in terms of parking provision?

Attachment 3

Order of Evidence

1. SNAM Investment Group Inc.
2. Town of Grimsby
3. SNAM Investment Group Inc., in reply.