Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: May 27, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000815
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: King’s Bay Golf Club Limited
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan– failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: Proposed redevelopment of existing golf course into 44 lots for single detached dwellings and open space
Reference Number: D01-2022-003
Property Address: 27 Stub Road
Municipality: City of Kawartha Lakes
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000815
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000815
OLT Case Name: King’s Bay Golf Club Limited v. Kawartha Lakes (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: King’s Bay Golf Club Limited
Subject: Zoning By-law Amendment Application – failure to make a decision
Description: Proposed redevelopment of existing golf course into 44 lots for single detached dwellings and open space
Reference Number: D05-2022-001
Property Address: 27 Stub Road
Municipality: City of Kawartha Lakes
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000816
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000815
OLT Case Name: King’s Bay Golf Club Limited v. Kawartha Lakes (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: King’s Bay Golf Club Limited
Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision – failure to make a decision
Description: Proposed redevelopment of existing golf course into 44 lots for single detached dwellings
Reference Number: D06-2022-001
Property Address: 27 Stub Road
Municipality: City of Kawartha Lakes
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000817
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000815
OLT Case Name: King’s Bay Golf Club Limited v. Kawartha Lakes (City)
Heard: May 23, 2024 by Video-Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
King’s Bay Golf Club Limited
Steven Ferri
City of Kawartha Lakes
David Germain
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY n. eisazadeh ON May 23, 2024, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Link to Final Order/Decision
1This Decision arises from a Status Hearing convened for the purposes of organizing and rescheduling the Merit Hearing of the appeals filed by King’s Bay Gold Club Limited (“Applicant”) against the failure of the City of Kawartha Lakes (“City”) to make a decision on applications for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Draft Plan of Subdivision, in relation to the property located at 27 Stub Road (“Subject Property”).
2The Applicant proposes to redevelop the lands formerly known as the King’s Bay Golf Course with 46 single detached residential dwelling units, three open space blocks and two open space parkland blocks.
3A Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was held on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, wherein the Parties and Participants to the Hearing were established, and a nine (9)-day Video-Hearing was scheduled to commence on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. A Procedural Order (“PO”), inclusive of an Issues List (“IL”), was issued on Friday, February 2, 2024.
4A Motion was brought by the Applicant on Thursday, March 7, 2024, with written submissions filed on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, seeking, inter alia, that the Tribunal determine Issue No. 6 on the IL as a threshold issue on the Hearing, which would help narrow and scope the balance of the issues (the “Motion”). As part of the relief sought on the Motion, the Applicant also sought a direction that the City deliver a revised scoped IL to the Applicant seven (7)-days following the issuance of the Motion Decision, and that a final revised and scoped IL be filed with the Tribunal fourteen (14)-days following the issuance of the Motion Decision.
5The Parties subsequently engaged in settlement negotiations, and jointly requested that the Tribunal withhold its Motion Decision in order to afford the Parties an opportunity to determine if a settlement was possible.
6A ‘with-prejudice’ settlement offer was provided to the City by the Applicant and scheduled to be considered by City Council on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Through a series of communications with the Tribunal, requests were made that the Hearing be adjourned to Thursday, May 23, 2024, and the Motion Decision continue to be held in abeyance until at least Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Ultimately, the Tribunal vacated all Hearing dates and scheduled the present Status Hearing to receive a more detailed update from the Parties as to the status of the matter and to determine if further Hearing dates were still required.
7The Parties now advise the Tribunal that the City has rejected the Applicant’s latest settlement offer and that new Hearing dates are required. The Parties agreed that the Hearing could be reduced from nine-(9), to seven (7)-days.
8The Parties each made submissions on the scheduling of new Hearing dates. The Applicant seeks the Tribunal’s earliest available dates irrespective of Counsel and Witness availability, stating that all Parties, Witnesses and Participants are under an obligation to make themselves available for Hearing pursuant to the Tribunal calendar and not the other way around. The City submits that the new Hearing dates ought to account for: (i) the issuance of the Motion Decision and the time necessary for the Parties to digest its determination and potential impact to the Hearing; and (ii) the availability of the Witnesses to the Hearing, since conflict with Witnesses schedules may result in undue resources being expended to retain replacement Witnesses and to prepare and file new Witness statements.
9The Tribunal expressed an appreciation for the Parties’ respective positions and submissions and was ultimately able to schedule a new seven (7)-day Hearing in short order, accommodating Witness availability while also providing the necessary time for the pending Motion Decision to be issued, and for a revised IL to be filed with the Tribunal in advance of the new Hearing.
10Accordingly, a seven (7)-day Merit Hearing has been scheduled to commence on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. by Video-Hearing. The Tribunal will not be sitting on July 1, 2024, on account of the statutory holiday.
GoToMeeting: https://meet.goto.com/943363669
Access Code: 943-363-669
11The Parties are directed that should they be in a position to further narrow and scope the IL as a result of the issuance of the Motion Decision, that a final and revised PO inclusive of IL is to be filed with the Tribunal within fourteen (14)-days following the issuance of the Motion Decision and in advance of the newly scheduled Merit Hearing.
12Parties 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:
13Parties 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
14Persons 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.
15Individuals 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.
16This Member is not seized.
17No further notice is required.
“N. Eisazadeh”
N. EISAZADEH
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.