Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: June 6, 2025
CASE NO.: OLT-24-001207, OLT-24-000747
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 14 of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27
Appellant: OBD Development Inc., OBM Marina Inc. and OBG ; Golf Inc. (collectively “Oak Bay”)
Description: Determination of the development charges
Reference Number: By-law 2024-34
Property Address: City-wide
Municipality/UT: Georgian Bay/Muskoka
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-001207
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-001207
OLT Case Name: Oak Bay v. Muskoka (Municipality)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 14 of the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 27
Appellant: OBD Developments Inc., OBM Marina Inc., OBG Golf Inc. (collectively "Oak Bay")
Municipality: Township of Georgian Bay
Subject: Development Charges By-law
Description: Township of Georgian Bay Development Charges By-law
Reference Number: By-law 2024-054
Property Address: Township wide
Municipality/UT: Georgian Bay / Muskoka
OLT Case No: OLT-24-000747
BEFORE:
D. CHIPMAN
MEMBER
Friday, the 6th day of June, 2025
THIS MATTER having come before the Tribunal for a Case Management Conference, and the Tribunal in its Decision issued April 29, 2025 and a Procedural Order issued on November 1, 2024;
AND THE TRIBUNAL having ordered in its decision issued April 29, 2025 that a new Procedural Order for the two appeals that are heard together be issued following the Case Management Conference and would replace the previous Procedural Order;
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order attached to this Order as Schedule “A” shall be in force and effect for the purposes of governing the procedures leading up to and including the hearing, which is scheduled to commence on June 22, 2026 at 10:00 AM for 5 days to proceed by video as follows:
Go To Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/519389173
Access Code: 519-389-173
Audio-only telephone line: Toll Free 1-888-299-1889, or (647) 497-9373
Audio-only access code: 519-389-173
“Matthew D. J. Bryan”
MATTHEW D. J. BRYAN
REGISTRAR
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.
SCHEDULE “A”
ISSUE DATE: CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000747 and OLT-24-001207
Procedural Order
- 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
This Procedural Order relates solely to the initial Phase One hearing of the above-captioned appeals. For the purpose of Phase One, the appeals shall be heard together but not consolidated.
The video hearing will begin on June 22, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/519389173.
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 5 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.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.
The issues to be determined in this phase in each of the appeals 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.
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.
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.
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
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 March 20, 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.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before April 10, 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 April 24, 2026.
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.
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.
On or before May 8, 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.
On or before May 8, 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.
On or before May 15, 2026 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before June 12, 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.
Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence by May 29, 2026 and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before June 12, 2026.
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.
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 by June 15, 2026 that the written evidence is not part of their record.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before June 17, 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.
All filings shall be submitted electronically and, if requested by the Tribunal, in hard copy. 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.
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.
BEFORE:
Name of Member:
Date:
TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR
Summary of Key Dates
Date Hearing Event
March 20, 2026 Deadline to exchange expert witness list
April 10, 2026 Meeting of like experts
April 24, 2026 Exchange and file Agreed Statement of Facts
May 8, 2026 Exchange of expert reports/expert witness statements/written evidence, evidence outlines for witnesses under summons
May 8, 2026 Exchange of Participant Statements
May 15, 2026 Confirm with Tribunal if all reserved hearing dates are still required.
May 29, 2026 Exchange of any Reply Witness Statements
June 12, 2026 Exchange of Visual Evidence
June 12, 2026 Provide joint document book to case coordinator
June 15, 2026 Hearing Plan
June 15, 2026 Notification to Tribunal and Parties if witness not to provide oral evidence
June 22, 2026 Hearing start date
ATTACHMENT 1
PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS
PARTIES
OBD Developments Inc., OBM Marina Inc., OBG Golf Inc. (collectively "Oak Bay")
District of Muskoka
Township of Georgian Bay
PARTICIPANTS
None
ATTACHMENT 2
ISSUES
Note: The identification of an issue on this list does not mean that all parties agree that the issue, or the manner in which it is expressed, is appropriate for or relevant to the proper determination of the appeals. The extent of the appropriateness and/or relevance of the issue may be a matter of evidence and/or argument at the hearing.
Population, Household and Employment Forecasts
With respect to Township By-law 2024-54
Were the persons per unit (“PPU”) assumptions used in the Township’s Development Charges Background Study (“DC Study”) reasonable and justified, and consistent with related assumptions in parallel planning documents, including the District’s most recent DC Study?
Is the assumed growth forecast for Seasonal Residents and associated dwellings a reasonable assumption in estimating the anticipated development in the Township over the various planning horizons utilized?
Is the assumed population growth from increased occupancy of existing dwellings reasonable?
Has the appropriate share of the capital works been assigned to “benefits to existing” and “post-period benefits” categories?
With respect to District By-law 2024-34
Is the inclusion of seasonal households and resort related households consistent with the amount of anticipated development as expressed in the District’s Official Plan and other Council approved planning documents?
Are the assumptions regarding the forecasted amount of conversion of seasonal residences to permanent uses reasonable and consistent with the amount of anticipated development in the District?
How have the increased needs for services attributable to dwelling units converted from seasonal to permanent use been accounted for in the estimate of benefit to existing development in the calculation of development charge rates?
ATTACHMENT 3
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
Appellant – Oak Bay
District of Muskoka
Township of Georgian Bay
Appellant – Oak Bay – Reply
Attachment to Sample Procedural Order
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.