Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: May 30, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-001114
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Praesentia Capital Corp
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit the development of 122 residential units
Reference Number: OPA No. 41
Property Address: 50 Bruce Street
Municipality/UT: City of Welland / Niagara Region
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001114
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-001114
OLT Case Name: Praesentia Capital Corp v. City of Welland
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Praesentia Capital Corp
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 2017-117 - Refusal or neglect of City of Welland to make a decision
Description: To permit the development of 122 residential units
Reference Number: By-law No. 2022-01
Property Address: 50 Bruce Street
Municipality/UT: City of Welland / Niagara Region
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001115
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-001114
Heard: May 1, 2024 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Praesentia Capital Corp.
R. Cheeseman
S. Fleming
City of Welland
C. Shedden
A. Hobbs
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY CARMINE TUCCI AND MATHIEU QUESNEL ON May 1, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1The matter before the Ontario Land Tribunal (the “Tribunal”), was with respect to the Appeals of the failure of the City of Welland (“City”) to make a decision regarding an application to amend the Official Plan (“OP”) and to amend a City of Welland By-law for the property known municipally as 50 Bruce Street (“Subject Land”).
2On March 8, 2024, the Tribunal convened the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) on this matter at which Member C. Tucci presided.
3The Tribunal was in receipt of the Affidavit of Service sworn by Darlene Hornsby on January 26, 2024, marked as Exhibit 1.
4At that CMC, counsel for the City had only recently taken carriage of the file and thus, was not in a position to provide any updates or an Issues List.
5On consent, the Parties agreed to schedule a second CMC on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
6The purpose of the second CMC was to receive status updates from all Parties to organize the hearing of these appeals. Member Tucci and co-panelist Member Quesnel presided.
7The Tribunal received no status requests at either CMC.
THE APPLICATION
8The Subject Land is currently designated Light Industrial and Low Density Residential and the existing zoning of lands L1 and RL2 By-law 2017-117. The land is currently mostly vacant, with a vacant one-storey accessory metal building. A proposal has been put forth to redevelop the land to permit the construction of 58 stacked townhouses (116 dwelling units) and six street townhouses (six dwelling units) for a total of 122 residential units.
9The proposed Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) is to redesignate the lands from Light Industrial and Low Density Residential to Special Policy High Density Residential in order to permit a density of up to 125 units per hectare while maintaining a medium density built form.
10A Planning Staff Report (“Report”) dated June 6, 2023, recommends that City Council approve the application for OPA No. 41 and the application for ZBA to Zoning By-law 2017-117.
11The Report further provided that the proposed ZBA is supported by Planning staff as it is intended to support the desired growth of the City. The location of the Subject Land is within walking distance of transportation corridors, transit lines, and active transportation routes.
12City Council failed to adopt the OP and neglected to make a decision on the ZBA.
NEXT STEPS
13At the May 1, 2024 CMC, the Tribunal was advised that the Parties had arrived at a preliminary Issues List which required some rewording and refining. On consent, the Parties agreed to finalize the Issues List and forward a copy to the Case Coordinator for the Tribunal’s review and approval.
14The Parties requested the matter be scheduled for a five (5) day hearing.
15The Tribunal hereby schedules a hearing of these appeals commencing on Monday, October 28, 2024, at 10 a.m. Five (5) days have been set aside.
16Parties 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/344779885
Access Code: 344-779-885
17Parties 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
18Persons 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.
19Individuals 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 events may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
20The Tribunal is in receipt of the updated Procedural Order and Issues List, herein attached as Schedule A.
ORDER
21THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the Procedural Order attached as Schedule A shall govern the conduct of this proceeding.
22No further notice will be given.
23The Panel is not seized.
“Carmine Tucci”
CARMINE TUCCI
MEMBER
“Mathieu Quesnel”
MATHIEU QUESNEL
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 A