Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
April 17, 2024
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-23-000785
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant
5047178 Ontario Inc. and Rosart Bucci Group
Subject:
Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description:
To permit a townhouse development consisting of 141 units
Reference Number:
PZ-18-22
Property Address:
58 Morrell Street
Municipality/UT:
Brantford/Brant
OLT Case No:
OLT-23-000785
OLT Lead Case No:
OLT-23-000785
OLT Case Name:
Rosart Bucci Group v. Brantford (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant
5047178 Ontario Inc. and Rosart Bucci Group
Subject:
Proposed Plan of Subdivision – Failure of Approval Authority to make a decision
Description:
To permit a townhouse development consisting of 141 units
Reference Number:
29CD-22504
Property Address:
58 Morrell Street
Municipality/UT:
Brantford/Brant
OLT Case No:
OLT-23-000786
OLT Lead Case No:
OLT-23-000785
Heard:
November 14, 2023, by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel/Representative*
5047178 Ontario Inc
Eileen Costello
City of Brantford
Rosart Bucci Group
SC Johnson & Son Inc.
Hartmann Canada
Sylvain Rouleau
Raj Kehar (in absentia)
Alan Heisey
Karl Broderick*
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY CARMINE TUCCI ON NOVEMBER 14, 2023 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1The matter before the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”) was with respect to the Appeals of the non-decision of the City of Brantford (the “City”) regarding Applications to amend the Zoning By-law No. 160-90 and a Plan of Subdivision.
25047178 Ontario Inc. and Rosart Bucci Group applied to the City to permit a townhouse development consisting of 141 dwelling units, in 23 separate townhouse blocks. A total of 214 off street parking spaces are proposed.
3The subject property is located at 58 Morrell Street (“Subject Property”) at the corner of Morrell Street and Webster Street, and has an area of 3.06 hectares. It was previously occupied by the former Robbins and Myers Factory, an industrial building, but is currently vacant. The Subject Property is surrounded by industrial uses to the north and west, with the Brant Curling Club and residential uses to the south and east. The Subject Property is surrounded by the Grand River in the Holmedale neighbourhood and is considered a brownfield with the existing building to be demolished and the lands remediated to a residential standard.
[4]
5Zoning By-law No. 160-90 would be amended from "Floodplain - General Industrial Zone (F-M2 & M2)" to "Residential Medium Density Type A Exception 85 (F-R4A-85 & R4A-85). Site specific regulations are proposed to facilitate the development, and the Subject Property is deemed one lot to apply the provisions and to permit minor reductions to the minimum front and exterior yards. The "F" prefix is included because the Subject Property is located in a floodplain. All lands are subject to a Holding "(H)" provision which will not be removed until a signed Site Plan Agreement is secured. Requirements for this include the approval of a Record of Site Condition and a noise study peer review.
6A Draft Plan of Condominium was also submitted, proposing that residents would own their own residential units and the roads, visiting parking areas, centralized amenity area and landscaped areas will be held as Common Elements of the Condominium.
7Planning Staff in their Report dated March 9, 2023, recommended that the Applications be approved. They noted conditions to be satisfied for the lifting of the "H" symbol and included conditions of the Draft Plan approval, along with submissions to be made regarding the Noise Classification to the Ministry.
8At the March 9, 2023, Planning Committee Meeting, the Committee voted to defer the item to allow the Applicant to consult with neighbours to address their concerns. Planning staff in their update dated June 15, 2023, noted the additional studies submitted in advance of the June 15, 2023, Planning Committee Meeting.
9City Council failed to make a decision within the statutory timeframe.
10The purpose of the Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was to receive status updates from all Parties to organize the hearing of these Appeals.
11The Tribunal is in receipt pf the Affidavit of Service sworn by Reshma Mohabir on October 2, 2023, and marked it as Exhibit 1.
12The Tribunal was presented with two Party status requests:
SC Johnson & Son Inc.
Hartmann Canada
13SC Johnson & Son, Inc. (“SC Johnson”) has owned and operated a household consumer products manufacturing facility at 1 Webster Street in the City of Brantford for more than 100 years. SC Johnson employs 250 employees directly and has a broader economic impact through its extensive web of relationships with Third Party Partners. SC Johnson has also invested more than $34M CAD (in today’s dollars) in charitable contributions in the past 20 years alone in support of the Brantford community and continues to do so. The factory is located immediately to the west and abutting the property at the Subject Property. SC Johnson also has two smaller manufacturing plants and a large distribution center located in Brantford.
14SC Johnson remains opposed to the Rezoning Application that would change 58 Morrell Street from industrial use to residential use, and SC Johnson registered its opposition to Brantford City Council during the City’s review of the Rezoning Application. SC Johnson opposes the current Appeals.
15Hartmann Canada is located adjacent to the Subject Property at 58 Frank Street. It is a large-scale manufacturing facility that operates 24 hours a day, approximately 360 days per year.
16The location is one of the largest moulded fibre egg carton producers in North America. Their products are made from post-consumer recycled paper that is re-pulped to produce egg packaging. The facilities require very industrialized equipment to operate. The manufacturing generates noise and considerable truck traffic.
17The proposed development will significantly increase the density of residential development close to the facility. The developments will inhibit the ability to effectively operate and may impact the viability of the Brantford operations.
18There were no objections to the Party status requests.
19The Tribunal granted Party status to SC Johnson & Son Inc. and Hartmann Canada.
20The Tribunal heard that the Parties are seeking a twenty (20) day hearing as they anticipate multiple witness’ will be called to present evidence.
21The Tribunal requests that an updated Procedural Order be submitted to the Case Coordinator by Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
22The Tribunal hereby schedules a hearing of these Appeals commencing on Monday October 21, 2024 at 10 a.m. 20 days have been set aside.
23Parties 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:
GoToMeeting: https://meet.goto.com/680885805
Access Code: 680-885-805
24Parties 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
25Persons 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.
26Individuals 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.
27No further notice will be given.
28The Member is not seized.
ORDERS
29THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that:
a. The Party status is granted for both SC Johnson & Son Inc., and Hartmann Canada in these proceedings;
b. An updated Procedural Order is to be submitted to the Tribunal by Tuesday April 30, 2024;
c. A twenty (20) day Hearing on the Merits of the Appeals will commence on Monday October 21, 2024;
d. No further notice will be given; and
e. The member is not seized.
“Carmine Tucci”
CARMINE TUCCI
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.