Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: May 23, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000080
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: LH (Angus) Ltd. And Silvercrest Investments LTD Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or Neglect
Description: Appealing non-decision for a Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision application to facilitate the development of 40 residential units
Reference Number: Z11-23
Property Address: 58 Vernon Street L0M 1B0
Municipality/UT: Essa/Simcoe
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000080
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000080
OLT Case Name: LH (Angus) Ltd. and Silvercrest Investments LTD Inc. v. Essa (Township)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: LH (Angus) Ltd. And Silvercrest Investments LTD Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or Neglect
Description: Appealing non-decision for a Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision application to facilitate the development of 40 residential units
Reference Number: Z11-23
Property Address: 58 Vernon Street L0M 1B0
Municipality/UT: Essa/Simcoe
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000080
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000080
OLT Case Name: LH (Angus) Ltd. and Silvercrest Investments LTD Inc. v. Essa (Township)
Heard: May 15, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
LH (Angus) Ltd. and Silvercrest Investments LTD Inc. (“Applicant”)
Paul DeMelo
Township of Essa (“Township”)
Paula Lombardi
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION DELIVERED BY W. DANIEL BEST AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This Decision arises from the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) for the above-noted matter. The Appellant has appealed under s. 34(11) and 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended, for the non-decision of the Township regarding a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) and a proposed Draft Plan of Subdivision (“DPS”) concerning the municipal address of 58 Vernon Street (“Subject Lands”).
2The Subject Lands are approximately 2.133 hectares (“ha”) with 20 metres (“m”) of frontage along Vernon Street. The surrounding land uses include residential uses to the north, south, and east and institutional uses to the west containing Angus Union Cemetery. The lands are designated ‘Residential’ as per the Township of Essa Official Plan (April 19, 2000). The Subject Lands are zoned ‘Residential, Low Density, Detached (R1)’ by the Township Zoning By-law (2003-50). A small portion of the site in the southeast corner is regulated by the Nottawasaga Conservation Authority (NVCA).
3The proposed ZBA would rezone the lands from ‘Residential, Low Density, Detached (R1)’ to ‘Residential, Medium Density, Townhome (R3) with special provisions’ to permit the proposed residential development.
4The DPS proposes a development of 32 new linked housing units and eight townhouse units. The DPS will result in:
16 residential lots for semi-links
1 block for townhomes
2 blocks for open space
Access is proposed from Vernon Street, and an internal cul-de-sac is proposed to provide access to all lots/blocks. Each lot will be serviced by municipal water and sewer services.
5The Affidavit of Service affirmed on April 29, 2025, meets the requirements of the Tribunal, and is marked as Exhibit 1. No further notice will be required.
6There was one request for Party status by Mr. Bartlett on behalf of his grandmother. After the Tribunal reviewed the differences between a party and a participant, Mr. Bartlett withdrew his request to be a Party.
7There was one request for Participant status by Mr. Janicki. In addition, Mr. Bartlett on behalf of his grandmother requested Participant status. There were no objections to the Participant status requests by the Participants. Both participants cited adjacency of their properties to the Subject Lands as a reason for their requests. Mr. Bartlett identified incompatibility with the existing community, insufficient infrastructure, emergency access concerns, proximity to an existing cemetery, traffic and pedestrian safety, and environmental constraints. The Tribunal grants Party status to Mr. Janicki and Mr. Bartlett to assist the Tribunal in resolving the issues to be raised in the appeal in a fair, just, and expeditious manner.
8The Tribunal explored the possibility of mediation and settlement with the Parties. The Parties are of the opinion it is premature to request such mediation but that this may be a path for this matter and understand that they may request this mediation at their convenience.
NEXT STEPS
9The Tribunal was advised that the Parties have been actively working towards finalizing the Procedural Order (“PO”) and scoping the Issues List (“IL”). The Tribunal directed the Applicant to submit a draft PO, on consent before Friday, June 13, 2025. The Tribunal will review the draft PO and if approved, it will govern the proceedings of the hearing. Confirmation will be sent through the Case Coordinator.
10Based on the discussions during the CMC regarding the scope of the Issues and the expected number of witnesses each Party will rely on, the Tribunal determined that it would be reasonable to schedule the hearing for five days.
11The 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.
12The Tribunal commended Counsel for the Parties for their willingness to work collaboratively.
13A five-day hearing is scheduled to proceed by video on Monday, December 1, 2025, at 10 a.m.
14Parties 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/442599157
Access code: 442-599-157
15Parties 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
16Persons 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 442-599-157.
17Individuals 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 to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator.
ORDER
18THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS the directions contained in this Decision.
19The Member remains available through the Case Coordinator should the need arise, subject to the Tribunal’s scheduling requirement.
“W. Daniel Best”
W. DANIEL BEST
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.