1334281 Ontario Limited v. Pickering (City), 2025 CanLII 113875

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE:

October 27, 2025

CASE NO(S).:

OLT-25-000509

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

Applicant and Appellant:

1334281 Ontario Limited

Subject:

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

Description:

To permit a mixed-use development

Reference Number:

OPA 23-0004/P

Property Address:

720 Granite Court

Municipality/UT:

Pickering/Durham

OLT Case No.:

OLT-25-000509

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-25-000509

OLT Case Name:

1334281 Ontario Limited v. Pickering (City)

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

Applicant and Appellant:

1334281 Ontario Limited

Subject:

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

Description:

To permit a mixed-use development

Reference Number:

A 10/23

Property Address:

720 Granite Court

Municipality/UT:

Pickering/Durham

OLT Case No.:

OLT-25-000509

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-25-000510

OLT Case Name:

1334281 Ontario Limited v. Pickering (City)

Heard:

October 15, 2025 by video hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel

1334281 Ontario Limited

Leo F. Longo

City of Pickering (“City”)

Alexandra Whyte Mark Joblin (in absentia)

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY SHARON L. DIONNE ON OCTOBER 15, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This is the Tribunal’s Decision and Order stemming from a first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) on the appeals filed by 1334281 Ontario Limited in respect of the failure of the Council of the City of Pickering to make decisions on planning applications for amendments to the City’s Official Plan and Zoning By-law, within the timeframes prescribed under the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P 13, as amended (“Act”). The affected lands are municipally known as 720 Granite Court, in the City of Pickering and are located at the northwest corner of Whites Road and Granite Court, to the south of Highway No. 401, within the West Shore neighbourhood of Pickering (“Subject Property”).

2The planning applications seek approval to permit a mixed-use development, consisting of a 10-storey building comprised of 262 residential dwelling units and a ground-floor commercial unit.

3The Tribunal received an Affidavit of Service, affirmed on September 9, 2025, confirming that proper notice of this CMC was given, and marked same as Exhibit 1.

CLARIFICATION OF APPEALS

4For clarification of the Tribunal’s records, and as agreed to by Counsel of both Parties at the time of the CMC, it is noted that the Tribunal confirmed receipt of the appeals on June 20, 2025, and that subsequently the Council of the City of Pickering refused the planning applications on June 23, 2025. Additionally, it is noted that City Staff Report No. PLN 15-25, dated June 9, 2025, recommends approval of the planning applications.

REQUESTS FOR STATUS

5The Tribunal received requests for Participant Status from Don Goundry, Elena Walmsley, and Zoran and Lori Matorcevic, all of whom are residents with concerns related to the proposed development based on traffic, proximity to a school zone, safety, and potential negative impact(s) on their quality of life. Having considered the submissions, the Tribunal accepted their Participant Statements on consent of the Parties.

PROCEDURAL MATTERS

6The Parties, having agreed on procedural matters, had filed a draft Procedural Order and Issues List (“PO/IL”) with the Tribunal in advance of the CMC, and were seeking the scheduling of a hearing on the merits of the appeals to be held sometime within the period of April – May 2026. The Parties anticipate calling evidence in the areas of land use planning, traffic/transportation, and urban design.

7The Parties acknowledged that the timing may allow for discussions to find some resolution to, and scoping of, the issues between them. The Parties were also aware that, should they have an interest, there are opportunities for Tribunal-led mediation available.

8The Tribunal inquired as to whether there were any other matters to be addressed, and the Parties indicated there were none.

NEXT STEPS

9A hearing of the appeal is scheduled for a period of ten (10) days, commencing on Monday, April 20, 2026, at 10 a.m., by video conference.

10Parties, Participants and/or Observers 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

11Persons 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 as indicated above.

12Individuals 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

13THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS as follows:

a. The following persons are granted Participant Status: Don Goundry, Elena Walmsley, and Zoran and Lori Matorcevic;

b. A Hearing is scheduled, for the period of Monday, April 20, 2026 to Friday, May 1, 2026 (10-day Merit Hearing), as set out above; and,

c. The Procedural Order attached hereto as Schedule “A” shall govern the conduct of this proceeding.

14The Member is not seized but may be available to assist with the case management of this proceeding, subject to the Tribunal’s calendar.

15No further notice will be given.

“Sharon L. Dionne”

SHARON L. Dionne

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 “A”

OLT-25-000509

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

Applicant and Appellant:

1334281 Ontario Limited

Subject:

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

Description:

To permit a mixed-use development

Reference Number:

OPA 23-0004/P

Property Address:

720 Granite Court

Municipality/UT:

Pickering/Durham

OLT Case No.:

OLT-25-000509

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-25-000509

OLT Case Name:

1334281 Ontario Limited v. Pickering (City)

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

Applicant and Appellant:

1334281 Ontario Limited

Subject:

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

Description:

To permit a mixed-use development

Reference Number:

A 10/23

Property Address:

720 Granite Court

Municipality/UT:

Pickering/Durham

OLT Case No.:

OLT-25-000509

OLT Lead Case No.:

OLT-25-000510

OLT Case Name:

1334281 Ontario Limited v. Pickering (City)

1. 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

2. The video hearing will begin on April 20, 2026 at 10:00 a.m..

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 10 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.

4. The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.

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

6. The order of evidence shall be as set out 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.

7. 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 – ideally before the case management conference. 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.

8. 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

9. 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 will be called. This list must be delivered on or before January 15, 2026 and in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.

10. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before February 9, 2026 and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. Following the experts’ meeting the parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before February 18, 2026.

11. An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 13 below. 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.

12. 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 as in paragraph 13 below. 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 13 below.

13. On or before February 27, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their [witness and] expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.

14. On or before February 27, 2026, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

15. On or before March 13, 2026 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

16. On or before April 10, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties 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. Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before March 27, 2026 and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.

18. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before April 10, 2026.

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 written evidence of a witness 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 before 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 April 13, 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 submitted electronically unless otherwise directed. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7.

23. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

ATTACHMENT 1

Parties

1. 1334281 Ontario Limited

2. City of Pickering

Participants

1. Don Goundry

2. Elena Walmsley

3. Zoran & Lori Matorcevic

ATTACHMENT 2

Hearing Issues

Note: The identification of an issue does not mean that all parties agree that such issue, or the manner in which the issue is expressed, is appropriate or relevant to the determination of the Tribunal at the hearing. The extent to which the issues are appropriate, within the jurisdiction of the OLT, or relevant to the determination at the hearing will be a matter of evidence and/or argument at the hearing.

1. Does the development proposal consisting of Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments (collectively the “development proposal”) have appropriate regard for matters of provincial interest enumerated in section 2 of the Planning Act, including the matters set out in sections 2(f), 2(h), 2(n), 2(p) and 2(r) therein?

2. Is the development proposal consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024) including but not limited to sections 2.3.1.2, 2.3.1.3, 2.4.1.2, 2.4.1.3, and 3.2.1?

3. Does the development proposal conform with the policies in the Region of Durham Official Plan (May, 2020), in particular, but not limited to:

• Sections 7.1.2 (Regional Structure);

• Sections 8.1.14, 8.1.15, 8.2.1 (Urban System);

• Sections 8A.1.5, 8A.2.8, 8A.2.9, (Centres, Corridors and Waterfront Places);

• Section 8B.1.3, 8B.2.3, 8B.2.4 (Living Areas)?

1. Does the development proposal have regard for the policies in the Region of Durham Official Plan (December, 2024), in particular, but not limited to:

• Sections 3.1.11, 3.2.3 (h), 3.3.3, (Healthy Communities);

• Sections 5.1.8, 5.1.9, 5.1.12, 5.1.14, 5.1.15, 5.2, 5.3.5 - 5.3.10, 5.4.,(Vibrant Urban System);

• Sections 8.3 and 8.5 (Connected Transportation System)?

5. Does the development proposal maintain the intent and principles of, and does it conform with, the City of Pickering Official Plan, in particular, but not limited to, the following policy sections:

• Section 2.7 g) (The Planning Framework);

• Section 3.2 (Land Use Objectives);

• Section 3.6 including Tables 5 and 6 (Mixed Use Areas);

• Section 9.2 (Community Design);

• Sections 12.2, 12.4 including Map 12 (Urban Neighbourhoods);

• Section 14.2, 14.10, (Community Image);

• Section 16.1 (Development Review)?

1. Does the development proposal have regard for City of Pickering OPA 38 (December 19, 2024) and City of Pickering OPA 20 (September 5, 2023)?
2. Are the proposed density, (FSI), building height, built form and overall site design for the development proposal appropriate with respect to the established urban structure framework and planning function of site?
3. Are the proposed massing and scale, density and height of the proposed development appropriate for this location and does the development proposal provide an appropriate transition to adjacent and surrounding areas?
4. Does the proposal have any adverse impacts on the surrounding existing development with respect to overlook, privacy, shadows, buffering between neighbouring land uses, and if so, have those impacts been appropriately mitigated?
5. Are the proposed site specific performance standards compatible and in keeping with the intent of the Zoning By-law?
6. Does the proposed development appropriately address the Pickering Integrated Sustainable Design Standards Mid to High-Rise Residential & Non-Residential Checklist?
7. Does the development proposal provide for sufficient amenity space?
8. Will the development permitted by the development proposal result in unacceptable traffic impacts? If so, can the impacts be acceptably mitigated and what if any traffic and/or road improvements are required to mitigate these impacts?
9. In the event that the Tribunal approves the development proposal, in whole or in part, should the final order(s) be withheld until such time as the Parties advise the Tribunal that the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments have been finalized to the satisfaction of the City?
10. Does the development proposal represent good land use planning and is it in the public interest?

ATTACHMENT 3

Order of Evidence

1. 1334281 Ontario Limited

2. City of Pickering

3. 1334281 Ontario Limited, in reply if any

Meaning of terms used in the Procedural Order:

A party is an individual or corporation permitted by the Tribunal to participate fully in the hearing by receiving copies of written evidence, presenting witnesses, cross-examining the witnesses of the other parties, and making submissions on all of the evidence. An unincorporated group cannot be a party and it must appoint one person to speak for it, and that person must accept the other responsibilities of a party as set out in the Order. Parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer and may have an agent speak for them. The agent must have written authorisation from the party.

NOTE that a person who wishes to become a party before or at the hearing, and who did not request this at the case management conference (CMC), must ask the Tribunal to permit this.

A participant is an individual or corporation, whether represented by a lawyer or not, who may make a written submission to the Tribunal. A participant cannot make an oral submission to the Tribunal or present oral evidence (testify in-person) at the hearing (only a party may do so). Section 17 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Act states that a person who is not a party to a proceeding may only make a submission to the Tribunal in writing. The Tribunal may direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions from the Tribunal on the content of their written submission, should that be found necessary by the Tribunal. A participant may also be asked questions by the parties should the Tribunal direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions on the content of their written submission.

A participant must be identified and be accorded participant status by the Tribunal at the CMC. A participant will not receive notice of conference calls on procedural issues that may be scheduled prior to the hearing, nor receive notice of mediation. A participant cannot ask for costs, or review of a decision, as a participant does not have the rights of a party to make such requests of the Tribunal.

Written evidence includes all written material, reports, studies, documents, letters and witness statements which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing. These must have pages numbered consecutively throughout the entire document, even if there are tabs or dividers in the material.

Visual evidence includes photographs, maps, videos, models, and overlays which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing.

A witness statement is a short written outline of the person’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which he or she will discuss ; and a list of reports or materials that the witness will rely on at the hearing.

An expert witness statement should include his or her (1) name and address, (2) qualifications, (3) a list of the issues he or she will address, (4) the witness’ opinions on those issues and the complete reasons supporting their opinions and conclusions and (5) a list of reports or materials that the witness will rely on at the hearing. An expert witness statement must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of expert’s duty.

A participant statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a statement of the participant’s position on the appeal; a list of the issues which the participant wishes to address and the submissions of the participant on those issues; and a list of reports or materials, if any, which the participant wishes to refer to in their statement.

Additional Information

A summons may compel the appearance of a person before the Tribunal who has not agreed to appear as a witness. A party must ask a Tribunal Member or the senior staff of the Tribunal to issue a summons through a request. (See Rule 13 on the summons procedure.) The request should indicate how the witness’ evidence is relevant to the hearing. If the Tribunal is not satisfied from the information provided in the request that the evidence is relevant, necessary or admissible, the party requesting the summons may provide a further request with more detail or bring a motion in accordance with the Rules.

The order of examination of witnesses is usually direct examination, cross-examination and re-examination in the following way:

• direct examination by the party presenting the witness;
• direct examination by any party of similar interest, in the manner determined by the Tribunal;
• cross-examination by parties of opposite interest;
• re-examination by the party presenting the witness; or
• another order of examination mutually agreed among the parties or directed by the Tribunal.

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