JBrine 6179 Lundy’s Land GP Inc. v. Niagara Falls (City), 2025 CanLII 106946

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: October 17, 2025

CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000293

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

Applicant and Appellant: JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc.

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

Description: To permit redevelopment of the subject property to a 10-storey mixed use building with at-grade commercial uses and 144 residential units above grade

Reference Number: AM-2023-032

Property Address: 6179 Lundy's Lane

Municipality/UT: Niagara Falls/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000293

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000293

OLT Case Name: JBrine 6179 Lundy’s Land GP Inc. v. Niagara Falls (City)

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

Applicant and Appellant: JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc.

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

Reference Number: AM-2023-032

Property Address: 6179 Lundy's Lane

Municipality/UT: Niagara Falls/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000294

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000293

Heard: September 29, 2025 by Video Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel/Representative*

JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc.

Michael Barton*

City of Niagara Falls

Nidhi Punyarthi

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY Gregory J. Ingram ON September 29, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) with respect to JBrine 6179 Lundy’s Lane GP Inc. (“Applicant/Appellant”) appeal pursuant to Section 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act against the City of Niagara Falls’ (“City”) failure to make a decision within the applicable statutory timeline on the Applicant/Appellant’s redevelopment application for the property municipally known as 6179 Lundy’s Lane, Niagara Falls (“Subject Property”).

2The application seeks to permit redevelopment of the Subject Property with a 10-storey mixed use building, including at-grade commercial uses and 144 residential units above-grade.

3The Subject Property is currently zoned General Commercial (GC) in accordance with Zoning By-law No. 79-200. The application proposes to rezone the Subject Property to a site-specific General Commercial (GC) zone to permit a residential parking ratio of 1.02 spaces per unit and a floor area for the dwelling units of 66% of the total floor area of the building. Parking for the residential units will be provided below-grade (147 spaces), with an additional 12 spaces at-grade to accommodate the at-grade commercial uses.

4The City issued a letter of complete application to the Applicant/Appellant on November 26, 2024.

5The Tribunal was provided with two recommendations from the Ontario Heritage Trust and Historic Sites and Monuments Board (“Ontario Heritage”) by the City after the appeal was sent on April 25, 2025. These documents recommended that the proposed development should shift to the west of the Subject Property and have a reduced height from what is proposed as it is adjacent to Fralick’s Tavern, which is protected by a Heritage Conservation Easement Agreement, dated 1996.

CMC

6At the onset of this CMC, the Tribunal was informed that Michael Barton is acting as a representative for the Applicant/Appellant initially and expects to shift to a witness role as these proceedings progress.

7By way of an update, Mr. Barton informed the Tribunal that discussions are ongoing with the City and that both sides have a better understanding of the key issues while also now recognizing that some issues remain contentious. The Applicant/Appellant is now waiting for comments from the City on a proposed issues list (“IL”) so that a final draft procedural order (“PO”) can be provided to the Tribunal.

8The City agreed with Mr. Barton’s summary and added that it expects that Ontario Heritage may need to be involved in the deliberations and contribute to the IL. The City also indicated that the meeting of experts will be key to arriving at a final draft IL for review by the Tribunal.

9The Tribunal is satisfied that the Affidavit of Service provides satisfactory evidence that proper notice of the CMC was provided and no further notice is required. The Affidavit of Service was marked as Exhibit 1.

10The Parties felt that it was premature to consider Tribunal-led mediation as the IL is not complete and may have heritage related issues added. There were no Party/Participant status requests.

11The Parties requested that five days be set aside for a merit hearing as each side expects to call four witnesses. It was also requested that additional time be provided to finalize the IL within the draft PO.

12The Parties provided an initial draft of the PO following this CMC for review and inclusion with this Decision (see Schedule 1). The Tribunal, having reviewed and edited as required, approves the PO provided, and directs the Parties to submit a final IL for review and approval to the Tribunal by Friday, January 30, 2026.

13The Parties are also advised that the Tribunal is available to assist with the finalization of the IL if required.

NEXT STEPS

14The Tribunal set a five-day merit hearing that is scheduled to proceed by video on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 10 a.m.

15Parties are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections:

GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/996288525

Access code: 996-288-525

16Parties 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 GoTo Meeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html

17Persons 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: +1-647-497-9391 or (toll-free) +1-888-455-1389. The access code is: 996-288-525.

18Individuals 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.

19The Member is not seized, and no further notice is required.

ORDER

20THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:

1. The dates and particulars of the merit hearing are set out above, beginning in paragraph [14].

2. The procedural order, included as Schedule 1, is in full force and effect with a final draft of the issues list to be submitted, as outlined in paragraph [12] above.

“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.

SCHEDULE 1

CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000293

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

Applicant and Appellant: JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc.

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

Description: To permit redevelopment of the subject property to a 10-storey mixed use building with at-grade commercial uses and 144 residential units above grade

Reference Number: AM-2023-032

Property Address: 6179 Lundy's Lane

Municipality/UT: Niagara Falls/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000293

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000293

OLT Case Name: JBrine 6179 Lundy’s Land GP Inc. v. Niagara Falls (City)

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

Applicant and Appellant: JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc.

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

Reference Number: AM-2023-032

Property Address: 6179 Lundy's Lane

Municipality/UT: Niagara Falls/Niagara

OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000294

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000293

PROCEDURAL ORDER

The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this procedural order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.

Organization of the Hearing

1. The video hearing will begin on April 13, 2026 at 10:00 A.M and is scheduled until April 17, 2026. No further notice shall be required.

2. The length of the hearing will be approximately 5 days. The parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible. The Merit Hearing will proceed by video commencing on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 10 a.m. and ending on Friday, April 17, 2026.

Monday, April 13, 2026 at 10 a.m. (5-day Merit Hearing) GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/996288525

Access Code: 996-288-525

Audio-only telephone line: +1-647-497-9391 or (toll-free) +1-888-455-1389

Audio-only access code: 996-288-525

• Parties and Participants are asked to log in to the events at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections as appropriate:

• Parties and/or 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 GoTo Meeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html

• Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line.

• Individuals 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.

3. The parties and participants identified at the Case Management Conference, including any representatives if applicable, are listed in Attachment 1 to this Order.

4. The preliminary issues for the hearing are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2 to this Order.

This preliminary issues list will be finalized following the meeting of the experts referred to in paragraph 11 and due to the Tribunal by Friday, January 30, 2026. A second Case Management Conference may be scheduled after the meeting of the experts should the parties need the Tribunal’s assistance in finalizing the Issues List.

5. The order of evidence for the hearing is 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 the parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.

6. Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible. Any person who will be retaining a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.

7. Any person who intends to participate in the hearing, including parties, counsel, and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website.

Requirements Before the Hearing

8. A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of the witnesses and the order in which they are intended to becalled. This list must be delivered on or before November 21, 2025. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area(s) of expertise in which the witness is proposed to be qualified.

9. An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, and any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of these must be provided as in paragraph 12. Instead of a 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. 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 anticipated evidence as in paragraph 12. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in paragraph 11 below.

11. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before December 5, 2025 , to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. Following the experts’ meeting, a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues shall be filed with the OLT case coordinator on or before December 31, 2025.

12. On or before January 5, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their witness and expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case coordinator and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.

13. On or before January 5, 2026, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties and the OLT case coordinator in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions or otherwise participate at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

14. Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case coordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before February 9, 2026, and in accordance with paragraph 20 below.

15. On or before February 16, 2026, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required. If a Party seeks to limit or exclude the written or oral evidence of a witness, the Party must bring a written motion on or before February 13, 2026 – such motions shall not be made returnable or otherwise pursued at the hearing except with prior leave granted by the Tribunal.

16. On or before March 16, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties and the OLT case coordinator in accordance with paragraph 22 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

17. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book and a joint book of witness statements which shall be delivered to the OLT case coordinator on or before March 16, 2026. The joint document book and the joint book of witness statements shall be delivered in PDF format, with full bookmarking and any items listed in a table of contents or index must be fully hyperlinked.

18. Any documents which may be used by a party in cross examination of an opposing party’s witness shall be password protected and only be accessible to the Tribunal and the other parties if it is introduced as evidence at the hearing, pursuant to the directions provided by the OLT case coordinator. The parties may also introduce documents to be used during cross-examination at the hearing.

19. A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.

20. A party who provides a witness’ written evidence or expert witness statement to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days prior to the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.

21. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before March 16, 2026 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.

22. All filings shall be electronic and, if requested by the Tribunal, also in hard copy. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for 4 documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by Rule 7.

23. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except pursuant to a written motion brought pursuant to Rule 17.

SUMMARY OF KEY DATES

Date	Hearing Event
November 21, 2025	Exchange of List of Witnesses
December 5, 2025 ,	Expert Witness Meeting
December 31, 2025	Filing of Statement(s) of Agreed Facts and Issues
January 5, 2026	Exchange of Witness Statements and experts reports, participant statements (if any), and summoned witness outlines (if any)
January 30, 2026	Final Draft Issues List Submitted to Tribunal
February 9, 2026	Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)
February 16, 2026	Confirmation to Tribunal if all reserved hearing dates are still required
March 16, 2026	Exchange of Visual Evidence
March 16, 2026	Filing of Joint Document Book
March 16, 2026	Filing of Hearing Plan
April 13, 2026	Hearing Commences

Attachment 1

List of Parties and Participants

1. JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc. Jawad Butt JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc. 30 Eglinton Avenue West, Unit 306 Mississauga, ON L5R 3E7 905-334-5441 jnb221@gmail.com

2. City of Niagara Falls Nidhi Punyarthi, City Solicitor and Director of Legal Services City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6X5 905-356-7521 ext. 4385 npunyarthi@niagarafalls.ca

Attachment 2

Preliminary Issues List

1. Do the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment have regard to the Matters of Provincial Interest under Section 2 of the Planning Act, specifically sections 2 d), h), j), l), m), n), p), q), r)?

2. Are the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment consistent with Provincial Planning Statement, 2024, specifically the following sections: 2.1.6, 2.2.1, 2.4.1, 2.4.3, 3.3.3, 3.5, 3.6.8, 3.7 and 4.6?

3. Do the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment conform to the Region of Niagara Official Plan, specifically the following sections: 2.2.1.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.2.1, 2.2.2.10, 2.3.1, 4.2.4.2, 5.1.5.7, 6.2, 6.2.1.8, 6.2.3, 6.4, 6.5?

4. Do the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment conform to the general objectives of the City of Niagara Official Plan and the matters set out in the following sections: Part 1 - Sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.3.1.5, 3.10, 3.13, 3.14, 3.14.3, 3.14.1, 4.0, 4.4; Part 2 – Section 4.0 preamble, Sections 4.1.24, 4.2.26, 4.2.27, 4.2.28, 4.2.29, 4.2.30, 4.2.31, 4.4.2, 4.4.5; Part 3 – Section 1.5.28, 1.5.31, 4.1, 4.2, 4.10, 4.11, 4.13, 4.14, 4.19, 4.19.1, 4.20, 5.1; and Part 4 Section 2.6?

5. Will the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment achieve an appropriate form of level of urban design with respect to the urban design objectives and policies of the following:

i. City of Niagara Official Plan;

ii. Lundy’s Lane Urban Design Guidelines;

iii. City of Niagara Falls Streetscape Master Plan and Urban Design Guidelines (2003);

iv. Tourist Area Design Guidelines;

v. Tourist Area Architectural Design Guidelines;

vi. Tourism Policy Review and Implementation Handbook;

vii. Site Plan Design Manual; and

viii. Region of Niagara Model Urban Design Guidelines.

6. Do the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment have appropriate regard for the adjacent heritage property?

7. How does the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment meet the Regional Road Traffic Noise Control Policy PW5.NO1.0?

Attachment 3

Order of Evidence

1. JBrine 6179 Lundy's Lane GP Inc.

2. City of Niagara Falls