Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 12, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000298
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: The Inn of the Good Shepherd (Sarnia) Inc.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Refusal to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit the development of a six storey, fifty-six unit mixed-use building and six stand-alone townhouse units for a total of sixty-two dwelling units
Reference Number: OPA No.11
Property Address: 831 & 837-841 Exmouth Street, Un-numbered Parcel No. PLAN 120 BLK A PT LOT 2 and 779 Melrose Avenue
Municipality/UT: Sarnia/Lambton
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000298
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000298
OLT Case Name: The Inn of the Good Shepherd (Sarnia) Inc. v. Sarnia (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: The Inn of the Good Shepherd (Sarnia) Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal
Description: To permit the development of a six storey, fifty-six unit mixed-use building and six stand-alone townhouse units for a total of sixty-two dwelling units
Reference Number: ZBA No. 8-2024
Property Address: 831 & 837-841 Exmouth Street, Un-numbered Parcel No. PLAN 120 BLK A PT LOT 2 and 779 Melrose Avenue
Municipality/UT: Sarnia/Lambton
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000299
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000298
OLT Case Name: The Inn of the Good Shepherd (Sarnia) Inc. v. Sarnia (City)
Heard: November 4, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| The Inn of the Good Shepard (Sarnia) Inc. | A. Baroudi |
| City of Sarnia | R. Kalar |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED ON NOVEMBER 4, 2025, BY S. DEBOER AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Decision arises from the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held in preparation for the appeals by The Inn of the Good Shepherd (Sarnia) Inc. pursuant to s. 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act due to the City of Sarnia’s refusal of the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment Applications for the properties municipally known as 831 and 837-841 Exmouth Street, Un-numbered Parcel No. PLAN 120 BLK A PT LOT 2 and 779 Melrose Avenue in the City of Sarnia.
2The purpose of the CMC was to consider requests for Party or Participant Status, and to set a date for the next hearing event.
BACKGROUND
3The purpose of the applications is to permit the development of a six-storey apartment building with minor institutional uses comprising of 56 dwelling units, six stand-alone townhouse units and 38 parking spaces. The proposal is to be developed as an affordable housing project that is to be administered by the County of Lambton.
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE
4At the commencement of the Hearing, the Tribunal reviewed, approved and marked the Affidavit of Service sworn by Hesham Baroudi dated October 21, 2025, as Exhibit 1 to the Hearing. Since the Tribunal was satisfied with the Affidavit of Service, the Tribunal ruled that no further Notice would be necessary.
STATUS REQUESTS
5The Tribunal did not receive any requests for Party or Participant Status prior to nor during the CMC.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESOLUTION
6Prior to the CMC, the Parties notified the Tribunal that a settlement had been reached between the Parties. Due to this recent settlement, it was the request of the Parties at the CMC that the Tribunal schedule a further hearing to review the details of the settlement, and if the Tribunal is satisfied, approve the settlement.
SCHEDULING OF HEARING
7As a result of the recent settlement, the Tribunal scheduled a video hearing to occur on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. to review the settlement details and the proposed planning instruments.
8The Parties agreed to submit the documents related to the settlement to the Tribunal by Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
9Parties and/or Participants and/or Observers 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/442599157
Access code: 442-599-157
10Parties 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
11Persons 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 same as mentioned 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 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
13THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS its directions listed above.
14The Member is not seized but may be spoken to if procedural issues arise, schedule permitting.
“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.