Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: November 25, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000495
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(1) of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27
Appellant: 601 Scottsdale GP Inc. and Forum 601 Scottsdale LP
Description: Determination of Development Charges
Property Address: 601 Scottsdale Drive
Municipality/UT: City of Guelph
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000495
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000495
OLT Case Name: 601 Scottsdale GP Inc. and Forum 601 Scottsdale LP v. Guelph (City)
Heard: November 14, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
601 Scottsdale GP Inc. and Forum 601 Scottsdale LP (“Appellant”)
Rodney Gill Joe Hoffman in absentia
City of Guelph (“City”)
Allison Thornton Ian White
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY W. DANIEL BEST ON November 14, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Link to Order
INTRODUCTION
1This Decision arises from the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) for the above-noted matter. The Appellant filed an appeal against the City’s Development Charges By-law No. (2024)-20866, as amended by By-law (2024)-20997 (“DCBL”) under s. 22 of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27(“DCA”).
2601 Scottsdale Drive (“Subject Property”) is owned by the University of Guelph (the “University”) and is planned to be redeveloped by the Appellant as a student residence for the exclusive use of University students (“Student Residence”). The Student Residence has been secured through a land lease between the University and Appellant.
3There are two Parties of record in this matter. No additional requests for Party status were made at this CMC. There were no requests for Participant status.
4The purpose of this CMC was to resolve the manner in which the Appeal ought to be heard by the Tribunal and set a date for the Merit Hearing.
5Ms. Thornton, Counsel for the City indicated they were seeking a multi-day hearing with viva voce evidence from witnesses. Ms. Thornton clarified that her intent was to call an estimated two fact witnesses, one witness from the City to provide context on the refusal to deny an exemption under the DCA and one fact witness from the University to provide greater context on the relationship of the Appellant and the University regarding the matter under appeal.
6Mr. Gill, Counsel for the Appellant advised that the matter before the Tribunal does need to have viva voice evidence. Mr. Gill continued that the merit of the Appeal relates to whether Forum’s proposed development of the Property benefits from an exemption from development charges and the the relevant facts on the applicability of the exemption are limited and based on legal agreements.
7The Tribunal considered its Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules”), the scope of the fact witnesses and the anticipated number of days for a hearing. The Tribunal determined that proceeding with a hearing and allowing viva voce evidence provided the best opportunity for a fair, just, expeditious and cost-effective resolution of the merits in this matter.
8Mr. Gill identified that proceeding in this manner does not preclude the right of the Appellant to file an objection with respect to the City’s witnesses and proposed evidence.
9The Parties anticipate that the length of the Merit Hearing, based on the issues to be addressed, is two days.
10The Parties are aware that Tribunal-led mediation is available to them should the need arise.
11The Tribunal anticipates that there will be a timely exchange of submissions and materials between the Parties well in advance of the Merit Hearing date.
12The Parties shall ensure that The Tribunal is in receipt of all submissions at least ten days prior to the start of the Merit Hearing.
NEXT STEPS
13The 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.
14The Tribunal thanked all Counsel for their assistance on the matter.
15A Hearing of the Merits is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 10 a.m. to Thursday, January 29, 2026, inclusive by Video Hearing.
16Parties 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://global.gotomeeting.com/join/979388733;
Access Code: 979-388-733
17Parties 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
18Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to it by calling into an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (toll-free) +1-888-299-1889. The Access Code is as indicated above.
19Individuals 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
20THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS the directions contained above in this Decision.
“W. Daniel Best”
W. DANIEL BEST
MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: www.olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-