Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 19, 2024
CASE NO.: OLT-22-002249
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: 2541005 Ontario Limited
Subject: By-law No. 2020-046
Municipality: Township of Oro-Medonte
OLT Case No.: OLT-22-002249
Legacy Case No.: PL200194
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-002249 Legacy Lead Case No.: PL200194 OLT Case Name: Carmel Pharms Corp. v. Oro-Medonte (Twp.)
BEFORE: SHARYN VINCENT, VICE-CHAIR Wednesday, the 17th day of July 2024
THIS MATTER having come before the Tribunal for a hearing, in writing, filed as of July 15, 2024, to determine the appeal brought by 2541005 against By-law No, 2020-046 which regulates cannabis production and processing facilities within the Township boundaries;
AND THE TRIBUNAL, having been advised that the Township, the Appellant 2541005 Ontario Limited, and the tenant, and now owner, producer Medical Saints Ltd. have come to a settlement of the matters under appeal;
AND THE TRIBUNAL, having been advised that Oro-Medonte Community Coalition Corp, being a party to these proceedings has no objection to the settlement between the Township, 2541005 Ontario Limited and Medical Saints Ltd.;
AND THE TRIBUNAL having reviewed and considered the uncontroverted, sworn affidavit evidence of Brent Spagnol, dated July 14, 2024, who is herein qualified to assist the Tribunal with opinion evidence in areas of land use planning;
AND WHEREAS THE TRIBUNAL being satisfied that the instrument now requested to be approved, being a site-specific zoning by-law amendment, accords with the statutory and policy requirements under the Planning Act, Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2020, County of Simcoe Official Plan and the Township of Oro-Medonte Official Plan and more particularly, constitutes good planning:
- By requiring setbacks to mitigate against potential off-site nuisance impacts upon existing sensitive uses,
- By employing other authorities under the Planning Act namely site plan control and a Holding provision to secure the appropriate mitigation measures, thereby striking a balance in the rural area to support diversification of the economic base and employment opportunities in relative proximity to sensitive land uses, and
- By upholding the objective of the Agricultural designation thereby preserving the agricultural resource through ongoing cropping and cultivation, and associated production.
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that in accordance with Section 34(26) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended (the “Act”):
i. The appeal by 2541005 Ontario Limited of Township of Oro-Medonte Zoning By-law No. 2020-046 is allowed, in part;
ii. Township of Oro-Medonte Zoning By-law No. 2020-046 is hereby modified in the form attached to this Order as Attachment "1", only as it relates to the lands municipally known as 918 Line 3 South in the Township of Oro-Medonte (the “254 Lands”), and the Zoning By-law No. 97-95 of the Township of Oro-Medonte shall be amended in accordance with Attachment “1”, only as it relates to the 254 Lands, immediately upon the issuance of this Decision and Order; and
iii. Township of Oro-Medonte Zoning By-law No. 2020-046, as previously amended and as amended herein, shall come into force immediately upon the issuance of this Decision and Order and shall be deemed to have come into force on the day it was passed (April 29, 2020).
iv. The Tribunal authorizes the municipal clerk to format, and assign a new by-law number to Attachment "1" for record-keeping purposes, as may be necessary.
“Euken Lui”
EUKEN LUI ACTING REGISTRAR
Ontario Land Tribunal Website: 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.
ATTACHMENT "1"
The Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte
By-law No. 2024-###
A By-law to Amend Zoning By-law 97-95, as amended
(Cannabis Production and Processing Facilities)
Whereas the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Oro-Medonte is empowered to pass By-laws to regulate the use of land pursuant to Section 34 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13.
And Whereas following a review of the land use policies in the Township related to Cannabis Production and Processing Facilities, and having provided adequate information to the public and having held at least one Public Meeting, Council deemed it appropriate to adopt By-law 2020-046, being a By-law to Amend Zoning By-law 97-95, as amended, in accordance with the policies of the Official Plan;
And Whereas Council’s adoption of By-law 2020-046 was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (File Nos. PL200194 and OLT-22-002249) pursuant to Section 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O., c. P. 13; and the Ontario Land Tribunal held a series of hearing events with respect to the appeals;
Now Therefore pursuant to the Order of the Ontario Land Tribunal, By-law 97-95 is further amended as follows:
Schedule ‘A2’ to Zoning By-law 97-95, as amended, is hereby further amended by changing the zone symbol applying to the lands located in Part of Lot 26 and Part of Lot 27, Concession 3 (Oro) Township of Oro-Medonte, County of Simcoe, from the Agricultural/Rural (A/RU) Zone to Agricultural/Rural Exception ### Hold [A/RU*xxxx (H)] Zone, as shown on Schedule “A” attached and forming part of this By-law.
Section 7.0 to Zoning By-law 97-95, as amended, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsections:
“7.xxxx *xxxx – Part of Lot 26 and Part of Lot 27, Concession 3 (Oro), Township of Oro-Medonte
- On the lands denoted by the symbol *xxxx on Schedule ‘A’ to this By-law:
a) Notwithstanding Table A4-Permitted Uses, one single detached dwelling is permitted;
b) Notwithstanding Section 6 – Definitions for Agricultural Use and Agricultural Use, Specialized, the outdoor and indoor growing and production of Cannabis are permitted, including processing activities related to harvesting, sorting, trimming, drying and storing of Cannabis;
c) Notwithstanding Table A4 - Permitted Uses, in addition to the permitted uses of the Agricultural/Rural (A/RU) Zone, a Cannabis Production and Processing Facility is permitted;
d) Onsite retail packaging and retail sale of Cannabis are prohibited;
e) A new building containing a maximum of 9,290 square metres (100,000 square feet) of floor area devoted to the indoor growing of Cannabis plants restricted to a non-flowering state of vegetation only, plus any additional floor area devoted to operations ancillary thereto (such as storage, drying and/or fertigation of Cannabis, and irrigation and other farming equipment), is permitted, as are all buildings and structures existing on the effective date of this By-law, and any new buildings and structures in accordance with By-law 97-95 as amended by this By-law exception; ;
f) Minimum setbacks of Table B4-C apply to lands within the Agricultural/Rural Exception ### Hold [A/RU*xxxx (H)] Zone, except that such setbacks run from lot lines and not from Exception boundaries.
g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this By-law to the contrary, the following provisions shall apply as delineated by the Agricultural/Rural Exception ### Hold [A/RU*xxxx (H)] on Schedule ‘A’:
i. The outdoor growing of Cannabis shall be permitted within the area of this Exception as shown on Schedule “A”.
The setbacks are detailed in Schedule ‘B’ to this By-law.
Conditions for Removal of Holding Provision:
The Holding Provision shall apply only for the purposes of regulating a building or structure constituting a Cannabis Production and Processing Facility that is developed after the effective date of this By-law, and upon application by the landowner, be removed by way of an amending Zoning By-law, from all or part of the lands subject to this provision when the following condition has been satisfied:
a) That the landowner apply for and obtain Site Plan Approval pursuant to Section 41 of the Planning Act, including entering into a Development Agreement and providing any securities required by said Agreement, addressing matters including but not limited to stormwater management, and the mitigation of odour, light and noise impacts, if applicable, to the satisfaction of the Township of Oro-Medonte, in consultation with the landowner. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no odour mitigation measures are required for the growing and production of Cannabis plants in a non-flowering state of vegetation.
Ontario Land Tribunal Decision issued on ___________ and Ontario Land Tribunal Order issued on ____________ in OLT-22-002249 (formerly PL200194).
Schedule “B”
To By-law No. 2024 ###