Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: December 04, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000743
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Lauren De Koster and Jonathan De Koster
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit a Wedding/Event Venue in a rural area as an Agri-tourism use
Reference Number: Y2-05-21
Property Address: 5277 Quaker Road
Municipality/UT: Central Elgin/County of Elgin
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000743
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000743
OLT Case Name: De Koster v. Central Elgin (Town)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: Lauren De Koster and Jonathan De Koster
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit a Wedding/Event Venue in a rural area as an Agri-tourism use
Reference Number: Y2-05-21
Property Address: 5277 Quaker Road
Municipality/UT: Central Elgin/County of Elgin
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000744
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000743
Heard: December 1, 2025, by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Lauren and Jonathan De Koster ("Applicant")
Jesse White
Municipality of Central Elgin ("Municipality")
Analee Baroudi
Participant
Counsel
County of Elgin
Nicholas Loeb
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY K.R. ANDREWS ON December 1, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Case Management Conference ("CMC") is the fifth hearing event of this matter involving a refusal of the Council of the Municipality to approve planning applications for an Official Plan Amendment and a Zoning By-law Amendment to permit a non-agricultural use (a wedding/event venue) on lands known municipally as 5277 Quaker Road.
2Of note, a merit hearing was scheduled to take place on June 27, 2025, and then again on September 4, 2025. A hearing event took place on both of those dates, but the hearing on the merits was adjourned in both instances. The present CMC was subsequently scheduled to keep the matter moving forward.
3The Parties informed the Tribunal that they are still working on a resolution and requested another CMC to provide an update. Alternatively, the Parties asked that the matter be adjourned sine die while they continue to work on it.
4The Parties confirmed that, if the matter is not settled, then it will proceed to an uncontested merit hearing. The Tribunal asked counsel for the Applicant if their planning expert would be ready to provide testimony at an uncontested merit hearing if the matter is not resolved, and he confirmed that he would be.
5Upon receiving this information and given the relatively unproductive history of the case so far, the Tribunal refused the Parties request for an additional CMC or to adjourn it to an unspecified date. The Tribunal finds that this case has languished too long already and, given that it is ready for a resolution by way of either a settlement or uncontested hearing, a hard date should be set to bring it to a conclusion by either method. Nothing sharpens the mind like a deadline. Dates were therefore sought for a single-day merit hearing in the first quarter of 2026.
6The Tribunal notes that the merit hearing date may be converted into a settlement hearing if the Parties come to a resolution before then, or a written settlement motion may be sought in lieu of an in-person settlement hearing upon the joint request of the Parties.
HEARING DATE
7The one-day Merit Hearing is scheduled to proceed by video on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 10 a.m.
8Parties and Participants 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/765631861
Access code: 765-631-861
9Parties and 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
10Persons 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: +1-647-497-9391 or (toll-free) +1-888-455-1389. The access code is: 765-631-861.
11Individuals 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.
12The Tribunal so Orders.
"K.R. Andrews"
K.R. ANDREWS
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.