Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: September 13, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002377 (Formerly PL210104)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(40) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: 30 Duke Street Limited
Subject: Failure of Approval Authority to announce a decision respecting a Proposed Official Plan Amendment
Reference Number: OPA 20/005W/JVW
Property Address: 22 Weber Street W (22 Weber Street W.)
Municipality/UT: Kitchener/Waterloo
OLT Case No: OLT-22-002377
Legacy Case No: PL210104
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002377
Legacy Lead Case No: PL210104
OLT Case Name: 30 Duke Street Limited v. Kitchener (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: 30 Duke Street Limited
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Reference Number: 20/013/W/JVW
Property Address: 22 Weber Street W (22 Weber Street W.)
Municipality/UT: Kitchener/Waterloo
OLT Case No: OLT-22-002378
Legacy Case No: PL210105
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002377
Legacy Lead Case No: PL210104
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 42(6) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18
Applicant/Appellant: 30 Duke Street Limited
Subject: Appeal of the Decision of Council to issue a permit with terms and conditions to (alter/erect/demolish/remove) a building or structure
Reference Number: HPA-2022-V-015
Property Address: 22 Weber Street W
Municipality/UT: Kitchener/Waterloo
OLT Case No: OLT-22-004383
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-22-002377
Legacy Lead Case No: PL210104
Heard: August 27, 2024, by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
30 Duke Street Limited
Jennifer Meader
City of Kitchener
Katherine Hughes
Region of Waterloo
Fiona McCrea
Friends of Old Berlin Town
Hal Jaeger
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY Yasna faghani and GREGORY J. INGRAM ON august 27, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1This was a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) to re-open a file placed in “closed status” by the Tribunal since August 2023. The matter concerns an appeal by 30 Duke Street Limited (“Appellant”) of the City of Kitchener’s (“City”) failure to make a decision with respect to the Appellant’s applications for Official Plan (“OP”) and Zoning By-Law (“ZBA”) amendments regarding the property located at 22 Weber Street West (“Subject Property”).
2The proposed amendments would facilitate the construction of a new 19-storey multiple residential building, having 162 total units and 24 parking spaces.
3On December 2, 2022, the Tribunal Ordered that this appeal, case number OLT-22-002377, and the accompanying Heritage Act permit appeal, case number OLT-22-4383, be consolidated and a 20-day Hearing was scheduled to proceed on March 13, 2023.
4In January 2023, the Appellant, on consent of the City and Region of Waterloo (“Region”), requested an adjournment of the Hearing sine die due to changes in the governing legislation and policy that may impact the Subject Property and the development proposal. The Tribunal granted the adjournment. Sometime thereafter, this matter was placed on “closed status” by the Tribunal.
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE AND STATUS REQUESTS
5There were no issues or concerns with the Affidavit of Service sworn on August 12, 2024.
6The Tribunal received two requests for Participant status from Mica Sadler and Ron Brohman. Both individuals were in support of the Proposed Development and reside in the vicinity of the Subject Property. The Parties all consented to the status requests. The Tribunal granted Participant status to both individuals.
PROCEEDINGS UPDATE
7Counsel for the Appellant advised that the City undertook a conformity exercise given the changes to the legislation. In that process, it decided to exempt the Subject Property from the conformity exercise because it was under appeal. As such, Counsel for the Appellant submitted that it is no longer necessary to wait until new legislation comes into force. Her client wished to proceed with an appeal based on the planning documents in force at the time of the original application. She advised that she had made updates to the issues list (“IL”) reflecting the impact of the changes to the legislation and submitted a draft procedural order (“PO”). She requested a 15-day Hearing be scheduled sometime between April and August 2025.
8Both counsel for the City and Region confirmed Counsel of the Appellant’s submissions and supported proceeding with a 15-day Hearing.
9Mr. Jaeger, the representative for the Friends of Old Berlin Town, submitted that he wished to wait until the new Zoning By-law and OP came into force before setting Hearing dates. He submitted that this would allow sufficient time to make changes to the IL in reference to the new polices and guidelines and provide an opportunity for additional Participants to request status since many neighbours have moved out of the area and new individuals have since moved in and may have concerns that should be heard.
10In response, Counsel for the Appellant submitted that it is not necessary to further delay the process and wait until the new ZBA and OP comes info effect since it has been decided that the Subject Property is exempt from any changes related to these planning instruments. Counsel welcomed the idea of working with the Parties on adding any issues which reflect the current law or changing any issues because of applicable policies at the provincial level. She proposed a further CMC be scheduled to finalize the IL and PO after October 20, 2024, once the new planning documents are in force. Additionally, neither counsel for the Appellant, City or Region had issues with additional Participants being considered.
11After hearing submissions from all Parties, the Tribunal scheduled a CMC and a 15-day Hearing, with details outlined further below in this Decision. The Tribunal also confirmed that it will consider any additional Participant status requests and permit current Participants to update their statements for consideration at the next CMC. No additional Party status requests will be considered.
MEDIATION/SETTLEMENT
12Counsel for the Appellant advised that informal settlement discussions with Counsel for the City have been ongoing. The Parties were made aware of Tribunal-led mediation, and indicated that they are not opposed to mediation, but that it is premature to determine whether that will be required. The preferred route is to continue settlement discussions outside of the formal Tribunal process.
HEARING PLANNING
13As discussed above, the Tribunal heard submissions from the Parties regarding the next steps concerning this case. In summary, the Parties anticipate calling between four to eight witnesses and requested 15 days for a Hearing. They also requested that a further CMC be set in October 2024.
14A further CMC will commence on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, beginning at 10 a.m. by video, as per the connection details outlined below in paragraph [15]. The purpose of the second CMC is to receive an update from the Parties, consider any additional Participants, review the PO, finalize the IL and confirm the number of days scheduled for the Hearing.
15The Tribunal scheduled a 15-day Hearing to commence on Monday, April 14, 2025, at 10 a.m. by video, excluding Friday, April 18, 2025, and Monday, April 21, 2024, as the Tribunal will not be sitting on these dates. The further CMC and the 15-day Hearing are scheduled to proceed as follows:
October 30, 2024 at 10 a.m. (one-day CMC) GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/709076365 Access code: 709-076-365 Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll-Free) 1-888-299-1889 Audio-only access code: 709-076-365
April 14, 2025 at 10 a.m. (15-day Hearing) GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/348282861 Access code: 348-282-861 Audio-only line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll-Free) 1-888-299-1889 Audio-only access code: 348-282-861
16Parties and Participants are asked to log into the Video Hearings at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections.
17For all Video Hearings, the Parties and Participants are asked to access and set up the application well before 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.
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 Video Hearings 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.
20The Members are not seized, and no further notice is required.
ORDER
21THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:
- A further Case Management Conference and 15-day Hearing will commence as per the details outlined in paragraphs [14] through [19] above.
“Yasna Faghani”
YASNA FAGHANI
MEMBER
“Gregory J. Ingram”
GREGORY J. INGRAM
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.