BayCity Custom Homes v. Ramara (Township), 2024 CanLII 9773

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE:

February 09, 2024

CASE NO(S).:

OLT-23-001002

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment

Description:

To permit two new and additional residential lots via severances on the subject property

Reference Number:

OP-1/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

OLT Case Name:

Vocella v. Ramara (Township)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision

Description:

To permit a reduction in the required minimum lot frontage from 45 m (147.6 ft) to 33.33 m (109.3 ft)

Reference Number:

Z-4/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001003

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 53(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Consent

Description:

Requesting consent for the creation of two new lots for residential purposes

Reference Number:

B-16/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001212

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

OLT Case Name:

BayCity Custom Homes v. Ramara (Township)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 53(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Consent

Description:

Requesting consent for the creation of two new lots for residential purposes

Reference Number:

B-17/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001213

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

Heard:

January 11, 2024 via Video Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel

BayCity Custom Homes

Andrea Mannell

Patrick Maloney (in absentia)

Township of Ramara

John Ewart

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. DEBOER ON JANUARY 11, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This Decision arises from the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held in preparation for a Hearing of the Merits (“Merit Hearing”) of the appeal by BayCity Custom Homes (“Appellant”) pursuant to s. 22(7), 34(11) and 53(19) of the Planning Act due to the Township of Ramara’s (“Township”) refusal of the Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”), the Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) and Consent Applications for the property municipally known as 2864 Concession Road A, in the Township of Ramara (“Subject Property”).

2The purpose of the CMC was to consider requests for Party or Participant status, consider the proposed Procedural Order (“PO”) and Issues List (“IL”), and set a date for the Merit Hearing.

3The Tribunal approved and marked the Affidavit of Service by Stephanie Bignell, dated November 16, 2023, as Exhibit 1 to the Hearing.

BACKGROUND

4The purpose of the OPA is to permit two new residential lots through a severance on the Subject Property, for a total of three lots. The purpose of the ZBA is to permit a reduction in the required minimum lot frontage from 45 metres to 33.33 metres per lot. The purpose of the Consent Application is to permit the creation of two new lots while retaining one lot for the purpose of building of a dwelling on each of the proposed three lots.

STATUS REQUESTS

5The Tribunal did not receive any requests for Party or Participant status prior to or during the CMC.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESOLUTION

6The Tribunal canvassed the Parties with respect to the opportunities for settlement, including the use of Tribunal-led mediation. The Parties stated that they were not at a point where Tribunal-led mediation would be helpful with the issues pertaining to this case. However, the Parties are aware that Tribunal-led mediation is available through the Case Coordinator.

PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST

7The Tribunal had received and reviewed the proposed PO and IL prior to the CMC. The Tribunal reviewed the PO and IL with the Parties and approves of its contents.

SCHEDULING OF HEARING

8Based on the number of witnesses the Parties intend to call, the Tribunal has scheduled a Merit Hearing to occur by Video Hearing beginning on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 10 a.m. for a duration of four days.

9Parties 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:

10GoTo Meeting Link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/519389173

11Access code: 519-389-173

12Parties 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

13Persons 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 the same as the access code mentioned above.

14Individuals 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.

ORDER

15THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that a Hearing of the Merits will commence by Video Hearing on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 10 a.m. for a duration of four days.

16The Procedural Order is to govern the procedures leading up to and including the Video Hearing as set out in Schedule 1 and is in full force and effect on the issue date of this Order.

17There will be no further notice.

18The Member is not seized.

“S. deBoer”

S. DEBOER

MEMBER

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.

SCHEDULE 1

CASE NO(S).:

OLT-23-001002

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment

Description:

To permit two new and additional residential lots via severances on the subject property

Reference Number:

OP-1/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

OLT Case Name:

Vocella v. Ramara (Township)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision

Description:

To permit a reduction in the required minimum lot frontage from 45 m (147.6 ft) to 33.33 m (109.3 ft)

Reference Number:

Z-4/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001003

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 53(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Consent

Description:

Requesting consent for the creation of two new lots for residential purposes

Reference Number:

B-16/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001212

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

OLT Case Name:

BayCity Custom Homes v. Ramara (Township)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 53(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant/Appellant:

BayCity Custom Homes

Subject:

Consent

Description:

Requesting consent for the creation of two new lots for residential purposes

Reference Number:

B-17/23

Property Address:

2864 Concession Road A

Municipality/UT:

Township of Ramara

OLT Case No.:

OLT-23-001213

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-23-001002

PROCEDURAL ORDER

The Tribunal orders that:

1. The Tribunal may vary or add to this Order at any time either on request or as it sees fit. It may amend this Order by an oral ruling or by another written Order.

Organization of the Hearing

2. The hearing will commence by video conference on July 9, 2024 at 10:00am.

3. The length of the hearing will be 4 days. The length of the hearing may be shortened as issues are resolved or settlement is achieved.

4. The parties are listed in Attachment 1 to this Order. All parties shall attend the first day of the hearing. All parties (or their representatives) shall provide a mailing address, email address, and telephone number to the Tribunal. Any such person who retains a representative (legal counsel or agent) subsequent to the case management conference must advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative's name, mailing address, email address and phone number.

5. The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. Except for scoping or removing issues, there will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits it. A party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.

6. The order of evidence shall be as listed in Attachment 3 to this Order. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, evidence-in-chief (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on consent or by Order of the Tribunal.

Requirements Before the Hearing

7. A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal, the other parties and to the Township Clerk a list of the witnesses and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered by March 11, 2024. For expert witnesses, a party is to include a copy of the curriculum vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is proposed to be qualified.

8. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before April 10, 2024 to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. The experts must prepare a list of agreed facts and the remaining issues to be addressed at the hearing and provide this list to all of the parties and the Township Clerk on of before June 24, 2024.

9. An expert witness shall prepare an Expert Witness Statement that shall include: an acknowledgement of expert’s duty form, the area(s) of expertise, any reports prepared by the expert, and any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 12 below. Instead of an Expert Witness Statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony.

10. A participant must provide to the Tribunal, the Township Clerk, and the Parties a Participant Statement by May 10, 2024.

11. Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an Expert Witness Statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence and his or her area of expertise, as in item 13 below.

12. On or before May 10, 2024 the parties shall provide copies of their Witness and/or Expert Witness Statements to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 19.

13. On or before June 7, 2024 the parties shall provide copies of Reply Witness Statements, if any, to the other parties and the Township Clerk.

14. On or before June 24, 2024 the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties. If a model is proposed to be used the Tribunal must be notified before the hearing. All parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

15. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the Tribunal case co-ordinator on of before June 28, 2024.

16. A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, after witness statements and reply witness statements have been filed must make a written motion to the Tribunal in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rules 34 to 38.

17. A party who provides the written evidence of a witness to the other parties must have that witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the Tribunal and the parties are notified at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.

18. On or before June 28, 2024 the parties shall prepare and file a hearing plan with the Tribunal at least with a proposed schedule for the hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the parties participating in the hearing, the preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in chief, cross-examination and re-examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The parties are expected to ensure that the hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the hearing plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the hearing plan at any time in the course of the hearing.

19. All filings shall be submitted electronically and in hard copy. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10 MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by Rule 7.

20. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rules apply to such requests.

21. A summary of the various filing dates is contained in Attachment 4.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

ATTACHMENT 1

PARTIES

1. Steven Vocella for Bay City Custom Homes c/o Sullivan Mahoney LLP 40 Queen St St. Catharines, ON L2R 6Z2

Patrick Maloney Tel: 905.688.5403 Email: pmaloney@sullivanmahoney.com

2. The Township of Ramara c/o Ewart O’Dwyer 311 George Street North, Suite 103 Peterborough, ON K9J 3H3

John Ewart Tel: 705.874.0404 ext. 231 Email: jewart@ewartodwyer.com

ATTACHMENT 2

ISSUES LIST

NOTE: The identification of an issue on the Issues List does not constitute an acknowledgement by the Tribunal or any party that the issue is either relevant or appropriate. The identification of an issue on this list by a party indicates that party’s intent to lead evidence or argue that the issue is relevant to the proceeding, for the purpose of fairly identifying to the other parties the case they need to meet, but shall not preclude any other party from calling evidence on the issue.

1. Does the Applications for Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”), Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBLA”) and Consent have appropriate regard for matters of provincial interest set out in Section 2 of the Planning Act, as amended?
2. Does the Consent have appropriate regard to matters under Section 51(24) of the Planning Act?
3. Is a Plan of Subdivision necessary for the proper and orderly development of the Township as set out in section 53(1) of the Planning Act?
4. Is the OPA, ZBA & Consent consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, considering the following policies:
   1. 1.1.1
   2. 1.1.4
   3. 1.1.5
   4. 1.4.3
   5. 1.6.6
   6. 2.1.5
   7. 2.1.8
   8. 2.6.2
5. Do the Applications conform to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020), considering the following policies:
   1. 1.2.1
   2. 2.2.1.2
   3. 2.2.9.
   4. 4.2.4
6. Do the Applications conform to the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, considering the following policies:
   1. 6.25
   2. The definition of “Development”
7. Do the Applications conform to the Official Plan of the County of Simcoe, considering the following policies:
   1. 1.3 Goals of the County
   2. 3.3 Lot Creation
   3. 3.8 Natural Heritage & 3.8.20 Development Control
   4. 3.7 Rural
   5. 4.7
   6. 4.10
8. Do the Applications conform to the Township of Ramara Official Plan, considering the following policies:
   1. 4.4.1
   2. 5.1.12.1
   3. 5.1.12.4 & 5.1.12.9
   4. 5.2.2
   5. 6.1, 6.2
   6. 7.1 & 7.3
   7. 7.13
   8. 9.4.1, 9.4.2, 9.4.8 & 9.4.9
9. Do the Applications represent good land use planning?
10. Can the three lots be safely and adequately serviced by private service systems?

ATTACHMENT 3

ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Steven Vocella for Bay City Custom Homes

2. The Township of Ramara

3. Steven Vocella for Bay City Custom Homes

ATTACHMENT 4

Summary of Filing Dates