Ontario Land Tribunal
Issue Date: February 26, 2024
Case No(s).: OLT-23-000938, OLT-23-001000
Proceeding Commenced Under subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Richmond Hill Against Overdevelopment
Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment No. 43
Description: To permit the development of a 28 storey high-density apartment building with a podium consisting of 284 residential units
Reference Number: D01-20004 (Official Plan Amendment 43)
Property Addresses: 10684 and 10692 Yonge Street
Municipality/UT: City of Richmond Hill/ Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000938
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000938
OLT Case Name: Richmond Hill Against Overdevelopment v. Richmond Hill (City)
Proceeding Commenced Under subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Sabella Ridge Estates Inc.
Subject: Zoning By-law Amendment Application – failure to make a decision
Description: To permit the development of a 28 storey high-density apartment building with a podium consisting of 284 residential units
Reference Number: D02-20010
Property Address: 10684 and 10692 Yonge Street
Municipality: City of Richmond Hill/ Regional Municipality of York
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-001000
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-001000
OLT Case Name: Sabella Ridge Estates Inc. v. Richmond Hill (City)
Heard: January 23, 2024, by Video Hearing
Appearances
| Parties | Counsel/Representative* |
|---|---|
| Richmond Hill Against Overdevelopment | D. Jiang*, S. Yuan* |
| Sabella Ridge Estates Inc. | P. DeMelo |
| City of Richmond Hill | C. Thorne |
Memorandum of Oral Decision Delivered by P. Tomilin on January 23, 2024 and Order of the Tribunal
1This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) for the file OLT-23-000938 in the matter of an Appeal by Richmond Hill Against Overdevelopment (“RHAO”) arising from the passing of an Official Plan Amendment in the City of Richmond Hill (“City”), pursuant to s. 17(24) of the Planning Act (“Act”), for the lands municipally known as 10684 and 10692 Yonge Street (“subject lands”).
2This was the first CMC for the file OLT-23-001000 in the matter of an appeal by Sabella Ridge Estates Inc. (“Sabella”) arising from the failure of the City to make a decision on a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”), pursuant to s. 34(11) of the Act, for the subject lands.
3The Tribunal received the Affidavit of Service and marked it as Exhibit 1 for both of the Appeals.
4At the direction of the Duty Vice-Chair Wilkins, the Tribunal will adjudicate each appeal separately, but during the same hearing event.
Status Requests for Both CMCs
5Prior to the CMC, the Tribunal received a Party Status request from Max Haroon. The Tribunal explained the role and obligations of a Party and questioned Mr. Haroon about his intent to call any expert witnesses to testify at the Hearing. Mr. Haroon stated that he will not have any expert witnesses at the hearing and that his written statement should suffice.
6Given that Mr. Haroon will not be calling any witnesses or proffering expert evidence, but rather will rely on his written statement, the request for Party Status was denied. Instead, the Tribunal granted Mr. Haroon Participant Status and will consider the issues and concerns raised in his written statement when making a decision.
7The Tribunal also received two additional Participant Status requests. Hearing no opposition from the Parties, the Tribunal granted Participant Status to the following individuals:
- Max Haroon
- Wang Hai Xiang
- Christina Tao
Mediation
8The Tribunal canvassed the Parties as to whether they had engaged in discussions to resolve any of the issues in the appeal and whether they would be interested in mediation. The Parties indicated that they are open to the mediation. The Tribunal directed the Parties to contact the assigned Case Coordinator should they wish to pursue Tribunal-led mediation.
Hearing, Procedural Order and Issues List (OLT-23-000938)
9The Tribunal canvassed the Parties on the number of witnesses and the number of days required for the Hearing. The Parties agreed that they will have up to four witnesses and will require up to seven days for the Hearing. The Parties have indicated that they are willing to work together in order to reduce the number of issues.
10A seven-days Hearing is scheduled to commence by video on Monday, September 16, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
11Parties 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:
GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/357283957
Access code: 357-283-957
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)1 888 455 1389 or +1 (647) 497-9391. The access code is 357-283-957.
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.
OLT-23-001000
15The Tribunal canvassed RHAO on what status they are seeking for the second Appeal. RHAO has indicated that they are seeking Participant Status to the proceedings.
16The Tribunal granted Participant Status to the representatives of RHAO:
- David Jiang
- Sharon (Xuefei) Yuan
17Mr. DeMelo advised the Tribunal that the seven days requested for the OLT-23-000938 Hearing would be sufficient to address the issues of the ZBA appeal, in file OLT-23-001000, and asked for both appeals to be heard at the same Hearing. Mr. Thorn was in agreement.
18Given that both appeals are dealing with the subject lands and from time efficiency standpoint, the Tribunal determined that it would be prudent for both appeals to be heard together.
Order
19THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Participant Status is granted as set out above in this decision.
20THE TRIBUNAL FURTHER ORDERS that a Hearing of the merits is scheduled to commence as set out above in this decision. Parties are to submit a Draft Procedural Order and Issues List to the Tribunal on or before Monday, February 12, 2024.
21This Member is not seized.
22There will be no further notice.
“P. Tomilin”
P. Tomilin
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.