Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: April 29, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-21-001751 OLT-23-001271
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: 1150 Centre Street GP Inc.
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 1-88 - Refusal or neglect of the City of Vaughan to make a decision
Existing Zoning: C1 Restricted Commercial Zone
Proposed Zoning: RA3 Apartment Residential Zone
Purpose: To permit the development of a 12-storey mixed use building
Property Address/Description: 1150 Centre Street
Municipality: City of Vaughan
Municipality File No.: Z.21.028
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001751
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001751
OLT Case Name: 1150 Centre Street GP Inc. v. Vaughan (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 41(3.7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: 1150 Centre Street GP Inc.
Subject: Motion for Determination
Description: Application to develop the Subject Lands with a 12-storey mixed use building and a three storey townhouse block with 28 stacked back-to-back townhouses
Reference Number: DA.23.050
Property Address: 1150 Centre Street
Municipality: Vaughan
OLT Case No: OLT-23-001271
OLT Case Name: 1150 Centre Street GP Inc. v. Vaughan (City)
Heard: March 28, 2024 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| 1150 Centre Street GP Inc. | C. Tanzola, N. Ast |
| City of Vaughan | R. Kehar, M.B. Rubin |
| Centre Street Properties Inc. | N. Koschany (Student at Law), M. Flowers (in absentia), S. Lampert (in absentia) |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY G.A. CROSER ON MARCH 28, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was held with respect to an appeal that had been brought by 1150 Centre Street GP Inc. (the “Appellant”) pursuant to s. 34(11) of the Planning Act for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBLA”) to enable the redevelopment of the property known Municipally as 1150 Centre Street (“Subject Property” / “site”), for which the City of Vaughan (“City”) failed to make a decision within the statutory timeframe. The ZBLA proposes to rezone the site from “C1 Restricted Commercial Zone” to “RA3 Apartment Residential Zone” with additional site-specific exemptions to permit the construction of a 12-storey mixed use building and a three-storey stacked townhouse block. On the eve of the scheduled Merit Hearing, the Parties reached a Settlement which was then considered and approved by the Tribunal.
2The draft ZBLA provided at the Settlement Hearing on May 11, 2023, contained several potential holding provisions. The Parties requested that a finalized version of the ZBLA be provided to the Tribunal within 120 days of the issuance of the Decision. An Interim Order was issued by the Tribunal following the Hearing, which listed the potential holding provisions for the ZBLA at paragraph [40] of that Decision.
3Unfortunately, the Parties were unable to produce the finalized ZBLA within their self-imposed timeframe. The Parties were then provided with more time to submit the final draft of the ZBLA. This CMC was requested by the Parties to provide an update on the status of the ZBLA and concurrently for the related Motion filed by the Appellant in December of 2023, with respect to its Site Plan Application (“SPA”) for the Subject Property.
UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE ZBLA
4Mr. Tanzola, Counsel for the Appellant, provided an overview and update on the status of the finalized ZBLA. He explained that the Parties had requested more time to determine which of the holding provisions, as listed at paragraph [40] (b)(i) to (vii) in the Interim Order, might be addressed before the Tribunal issued a Final Order. The hope was that the finalized ZBLA would not require any holding provisions. As Mr. Kehar, Counsel for the City, noted, the goal of taking time to work through the conditions before finalizing the ZBLA was to “be a bit less efficient in order to be more efficient” in that it would save the Appellant the cost and process of lifting the holding provisions at a later date.
5The Tribunal was informed that of the seven potential holding provisions, the four items related to the site’s environmental status and the functional servicing of the site have been resolved. The remaining issues from paragraph 40 of the Interim Order are as follows:
40(b)(i) sewage and water supply capacity has been assigned, in accordance with the City’s approved Servicing Capacity Distribution Protocol, to the site, for the approved number of dwelling units, by resolution of City Council;
40(b)(v) the owner/Applicant shall undertake an Environmental Noise Assessment for the Proposed Development, and provide a detailed noise report to the satisfaction of the City’s Development Engineering Department, that includes any recommended mitigation measures as required; and
40(b)(vi.) confirmation that the Subject Property or the relevant portion thereof has been classified as a Class 4 area pursuant to Ministry of Environment Guideline NPC 300.
6Mr. Kehar was “reasonably confident” that the sewage and water supply capacity would be resolved as the site plan process moved forward. Mr. Tanzola explained that the Appellant had submitted the noise report which had been peer reviewed by the City, and that another report was to be filed with the City this spring. With respect to the identification of the site as a Class 4 area, Mr. Kehar noted that the City Council would have to make a decision on that classification.
7The Parties were optimistic that these three remaining matters could be addressed within the next few months. It was decided that another CMC would be scheduled to update the Tribunal on the progress made. Mr. Kehar suggested a June date for the CMC which would provide time for City Council meetings where these matters would hopefully be addressed and approved.
FINALIZED ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT
8Mr. Tanzola asked if additional planning evidence would be required by the Tribunal to support the finalized ZBLA, if resolved with no holding provisions. As the Tribunal Member was on the Panel that heard the Settlement Hearing, and will remain seized of this file for the June CMC, no additional planning evidence is required. However, if there are changes to the final ZBLA which go beyond mere stylistic edits, then support for those changes, in the form of a brief affidavit may be required. The Parties are directed to communicate with the Case Coordinator if substantive changes to the final ZBLA are required.
MOTION
9The CMC also addressed the Motion filed in December 2023, by the Appellant; OLT Case File No. OLT-23-001271, concerning the Appellant SPA and whether that Application was complete. Mr. Tanzola stated that this Motion would be rendered moot if the issues listed in paragraph [5] of this Decision were resolved. Mr. Tanzola’s position was that the Motion with respect to the SPA would remain on pause while the Parties worked through the three remaining holding provision issues. Mr. Kehar provided no comment on the Motion.
JUNE CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
10The Tribunal scheduled a one-day CMC on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
11Parties 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/687587165
Access Code: 687-587-165
12Parties 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
13Persons 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.
14Individuals 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.
15The Tribunal so orders and provides these Case Management Conference directives for the purposes of the case management of these files.
“G.A. Croser”
G.A. CROSER
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.