Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: October 07, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000431
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Gemini Urban Design (W) Corporation
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: Development of back-to-back townhouse block and underground parking garage
Reference Number: OP.24.010
Property Address: 140 Simmons Street L4H 4X7
Municipality/UT: Vaughan/York
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000431
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000431
OLT Case Name: Gemini Urban Design (W) Corporation v. Vaughan (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Gemini Urban Design (W) Corporation
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: Development of back-to-back townhouse block and underground parking garage
Reference Number: Z.24.023
Property Address: 140 Simmons Street L4H 4X7
Municipality/UT: Vaughan/York
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000432
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000431
Heard: October 3, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Gemini Urban Design (W) Corporation ("Applicant"/"Appellant")
Joel Farber Shane Gould
City of Vaughan ("City")
Zaynab Al-Waadh
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority ("TRCA")
Kim Mullin Sean Ovas
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY W. DANIEL BEST ON october 3, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Decision arises from the first Case Management Conference ("CMC") for the above-noted matter. The Appellant has appealed under ss. 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended ("Act"), for the non-decision of the City regarding an Official Plan Amendment ("OPA") and Zoning By-law Amendment ("ZBA") (together "Applications") concerning the municipal address of 140 Simmons Street, in the City ("Subject Property").
2The Subject Property is located on the west side of Simmons Street, south of Rutherford Road and west of Regional Road #27.
3The Subject Property is approximately 0.369 hectares in size and has a frontage of approximately 64.20 metres ("m").
4The Subject Property was previously occupied with a single detached dwelling that is now demolished.
5The Applicant is proposing to redevelop the Subject Property to permit a back-to-back townhouse block development containing 12 residential units, with a proposed height of three storeys, an estimated total Gross Floor Area of 1,918.05 square metres, and an underground parking garage with 15 parking spaces
6To facilitate the redevelopment of the Subject Property, an OPA and ZBA is required.
7To facilitate the redevelopment of the Subject Property, amendments to the Vaughan Official Plan ("VOP") are required. The OPA provides for the following:
- To redesignate a portion of the Subject Property from "Natural Areas and Countryside" to "Community Areas" on Schedule 1 – Urban Structure;
- To redesignate a portion of the Subject Property from "Natural Areas" to "Low Rise Residential" on Schedule 13;
- To permit 12 back-to-back townhouses in the "Low-Rise Residential" designation; and
- To reduce the minimum required Vegetation Protection Zone width from 10 m to 1.64 m.
8The Current York Region Official Plan ("YROP") remains in effect. The amendment to the YROP will:
- Remove a portion of the Subject Property from the "Regional Greenlands System" designation within Map 1 – Regional Structure of the YROP;
- Redesignate a portion of the Subject Property from "Regional Greenlands System" to "Urban Area" within Map 2 – Regional Greenlands System of the YROP; and
- Remove a portion of the Subject Property from the "Woodlands" designation on Map 5 – Woodlands of the YROP.
9The current zoning for the Subject Property is RE(EN) – Estate Residential Zone with the Established Neighbourhood "EN" suffix under Zoning By-law No. 001-2021.
10The proposed ZBA would rezone the Subject Property to RM1 – Multiple Residential Zone and EP – Environmental Protection Zone, together with the site-specific zoning exceptions identified in the City staff's Committee of the Whole (Public Meeting) Report, dated April 1, 2025.
11The Affidavit of Service, affirmed on August 28, 2025, meets the requirements of the Tribunal and is marked as Exhibit 1. No further notice will be required.
12There was one request for Party status by TRCA, represented by counsel. There were no objections to the Party status request by the Parties.
13TRCA cited their obligations under the Conservation Authorities Act, 1997, R.S.O. 1990, c. 27 ("CAA") and its regulations, which require the TRCA to ensure that the Applications are consistent with the natural hazard policies of the Provincial Planning Statement ("PPS"). In addition, TRCA advised of an interest in the Applications, given TRCA's responsibility to manage the risk of natural hazards, and its expertise will assist the Tribunal in assessing the consistency of the Applications with the PPS
14The Subject Property is within TRCA's regulated area. The Applicant will require a permit from the TRCA, under the CAA, to complete any development activity on the Subject Property.
15Based on the reasons identified in paragraphs [13] and [14] above, the Tribunal grants Party status to TRCA to assist the Tribunal in resolving the issues raised in the appeal in a fair, just, and expeditious manner.
16There were no requests for Participant status.
17The Tribunal explored the possibility of mediation and settlement with the Parties. The Parties are aware they may request Tribunal-led mediation at their convenience.
NEXT STEPS
18The Tribunal was advised that counsel for the City has not yet had an opportunity to seek instructions from City Council. It was anticipated that this would occur in late January or February, 2026.
19With the assistance of the Parties, the Tribunal determined that a second CMC would be effective in this matter for the purposes of considering a Procedural Order ("PO") and Issue List ("IL") and provide an update to the Tribunal. The Tribunal set the date of Monday, March 30, 2026 for the second CMC. The Tribunal directed counsel for the Applicant to submit the PO and IL, on consent, in advance of the second CMC, for consideration.
20After discussion with the Parties, the Tribunal agreed that the anticipated length of the Merit Hearing would be seven days. The Tribunal set the date of Monday, June 22, 2026 for the Merit Hearing.
21The Tribunal inquired as to whether there were any other matters to be addressed which might assist in the fair, just, and expeditious resolution of this matter. The Parties indicated there were none.
22The Tribunal thanked all counsel for their assistance.
23The second CMC and Merit Hearing are scheduled to proceed by video as follows:
Monday, March 30, 2026 at 10 a.m. (one-day CMC)
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/687587165
Access code: 687-587-165
Audio-only telephone line: +1-647-497-9373 or (toll-free) +1-888-299-1889
Audio-only access code: 687-587-165
Monday, June 22, 2026 at 10 a.m. (seven-day Merit Hearing)
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/344779885
Access code: 344-779-885
Audio-only line: +1-647-497-9373 or (toll-free) +1-888-299-1889
Audio-only access code: 344-779-885
24Parties are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections.
25Parties 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
26Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to it by calling in to an audio-only telephone line.
27Individuals 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 event to ensure that they are properly connected at the correct time. Questions prior to the event may be directed to the Tribunal's Case Coordinator.
ORDER
28THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS the directions contained in this Decision.
29The Member is not seized but remains available through the Case Coordinator, should the need arise, subject to the Tribunal's scheduling requirements.
"W. Daniel Best"
W. DANIEL BEST
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.