Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 26, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-21-001684
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: FarSight Investments Ltd.
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 03-57 - Refusal or neglect of Township of Adjala-Tosorontio to make a decision
Existing Zoning: C1 Restricted Commercial Zone
Proposed Zoning: Hamlet Residential One Exception 25 (HR1-25), Hamlet Residential One Exception 26 (HR1-26), Hamlet Residential One Exception 27 (HR1-27), Hamlet Residential Two Exception 3 (HR2-3), Open Space Recreation Exception 3 (OSR-3), Open Space Recreation Exception 4 (OSR-4), Open Space Conservation Exception 3 (OSC-3) & Institutional Exception 4 (I-4)
Purpose: To permit construction of a subdivision to allow for 823 detached single-family dwellings and 415 attached single-family dwellings
Property Address/Description: 6373 County Road 13
Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe
Municipality File No.: Z/07/21
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001684
OLT File No.: OLT-21-001684
OLT Case Name: FarSight Investments Ltd. v. Adjala-Tosorontio (Township)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: FarSight Investments Ltd.
Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision - Failure of Township of Adjala-Tosorontio to make a decision
Purpose: To permit construction of a subdivision to allow for 823 detached single-family dwellings and 415 attached single-family dwellings
Property Address/Description: 6373 County Road 13
Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe
Municipality File No.: D12/FAR/21
OLT Case No.: OLT-21-001684
OLT File No.: OLT-21-001685
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: FarSight Investments Ltd.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit construction of a subdivision to allow for 823 detached single-family dwellings and 415 attached single-family dwellings
Reference Number: D09/O02/22
Property Address: 6373 County Road 13
Municipality/UT: Adjala-Tosorontio/Simcoe
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000014
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-21-001684
Heard: July 9, 2024, in writing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| FarSight Investments Ltd. | Jennifer Meader |
| Township of Adjala-Tosorontio | Lee English |
| Simcoe County | Marshall Green |
| Simcoe County District School Board | Michael Cara |
DECISION DELIVERED BY KURTIS SMITH AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
1This decision and order pertain to the Proposed Development sought by FarSight Investments Ltd. (“FarSight”) for the lands municipally known as 6373 County Road 13 (“Subject Lands”) in the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio (“Township”).
2To facilitate the Proposed Development an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”), Zoning By-law Amendments (“ZBA”), and Draft Plan of Subdivision (“DPS”) (together “Applications”) were sought by FarSight. Following the failure to make a decision on the ZBA and DPS and the failure to adopt the OPA, FarSight filed the Appeals.
3As a result of ongoing communication between the Parties, Minutes of Settlement (“MOS”) were able to be executed, and the scheduled merit hearing was converted to a Settlement Hearing heard in writing.
4To support the Settlement Proposal, the Tribunal, based on Brian J. Goodreid’s Curriculum Vitae and Acknowledgement of Expert’s Duty, qualifies Mr. Goodreid to provide written opinion evidence in the area of land use planning.
THE REVISED PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
5Since the initial proposal, FarSight has revised the Proposed Development in response to comments from the Simcoe County District School Board (“SCDSB”) and the Township.
6The revised plan now proposes:
a. 1,321 dwelling units:
i. 715 single detached dwelling lots, broken down as:
298 singles with 10m frontage,
266 singles with 11m frontage, and
151 singles with 13m frontage.
ii. 606 townhouses, broken down as:
366 townhouses on 6m frontage lots within Blocks 701-762, and
240 back-to-back townhouses on 6.6m frontage lots within Blocks 763-782.
b. 2.42 hectares (“ha”) dedicated to school lands (Block 798)
c. 3 ha dedicated to park lands (Block 801)
d. Stormwater management pond (Block 799)
e. Environmental Protection/Open Space (Block 800. 802. And 803)
PLANNING EVIDENCE
7Written in the decision of the first CMC issued on May 12, 2022, the Township and FarSight’s had differing interpretations of the population figures within OPA 8, which is the OPA passed to designate the Subject Lands for residential purposes. Mr. Goodreid explained that the sought after OPA is solely required to add the word “minimum” to s. 4.6.3.1(g) to permit the development of the lands with a minimum population of 1,952 persons on the Subject Lands. Whereas it currently states that 1,952 persons have been allocated for the lands, however not indicating if that threshold is a minimum or maximum.
8Related to the ZBA, the Subject Lands are currently zoned Agricultural (A) Zone, Rural (R) Zone, and Open Space Recreation (OSR) Zone. To permit the Proposed Development, FarSight proposes a lengthy list of site-specific zones utilizing holding provisions for the proposed residential lands (Attachment 2).
9Mr. Goodreid provided the Tribunal with a proficient witness statement (found in Exhibit 1) to support his opinion that the Applications have regard for s. 2 of the Planning Act (“Act”), is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (“PPS”), conforms to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (“Growth Plan”), conforms to the County of Simcoe Official Plan (“COP”) and the Township Official Plan (“TOP”). Additionally, he is of the opinion that the DPS has regard for s. 51(24) of the Act and that the agreed upon conditions of the DPS are comprehensive, as well as fair, reasonable, and appropriate for guiding the development of the Subject Lands.
10The above-mentioned planning documents relating to the settlement proposal have several common themes and are implemented by the OPA, ZBA, and DPS, including:
a. The orderly development within an existing settlement area.
b. Supports the protection of environmental and natural heritage features.
c. Provides a range of housing forms in an efficient and appropriate level of density.
d. Contributes to the creation of safe and healthy communities, utilizing existing full municipal services.
FINDINGS
11The Tribunal accepts the uncontested planning evidence and opinions of Mr. Goodreid and is satisfied that the OPA, ZBA, and DPS represents good planning, has regard for matters of provincial interest, is consistent with the PPS, conforms to the Growth Plan, COP, and TOP, and constitutes an appropriate site-specific amendment to the Town’s Zoning By-law. Furthermore, the Tribunal finds the DPS has appropriate regard to the criteria set out in s. 51(24) of the Planning Act, and the conditions are reasonable and appropriate for the proposed development pursuant to s. 51(25) of the Act.
ORDER
12THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the appeal is allowed and the Official Plan for the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio is amended as set out in Attachment 1 to this Order.
13THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the appeal is allowed in part and By-law No.03-57 is hereby amended as set out in Attachment 2 to this Order. The Tribunal authorizes the municipal clerk of the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio to assign a number to this by-law for record-keeping purposes.
14THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the Proposed Plan of Subdivision appeal is allowed in part and the draft plan set out in Attachment 3 is approved subject to the fulfillment of the conditions set out in Attachment 4 to this Order.
15AND THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT pursuant to subsection 51(56.1) of the Planning Act, the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio shall have the authority to clear the conditions of draft plan approval and to administer final approval of the plan of subdivision for the purposes of subsection 51(58) of the Act. In the event that there are any difficulties implementing any of the conditions of draft plan approval, or if any changes are required to be made to the draft plan, the Tribunal may be spoken to.
“Kurtis Smith”
Kurtis Smith
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.