Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: July 22, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-001042
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit residential townhouse development
Reference Number: OR07/24
Property Address: 245 Riverbank Drive
Municipality: City of Cambridge
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-001042
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-001042
OLT Case Name: Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd. v. Cambridge (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd.
Subject: Appeal of decision - OPA/ZBA - Permit residential townhouse development
Description: To permit residential townhouse development
Reference Number: OR07/24
Property Address: 245 Riverbank Drive
Municipality/UT: City of Cambridge
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-001043
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-001042
Heard: June 11, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties Counsel
Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd. R. Howe
City of Cambridge N. Auty
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. GOPIKRISHNA ON JUNE 11, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This was the second Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held to organize appeals by Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd. (“Appellant”) against the decision by the City of Cambridge (“City”) to refuse applications for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) in relation to the property located at municipal address 245 Riverbank Drive (“Subject Property”) in the City. After the first CMC was completed on January 24, 2025, the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal “) instructed the Parties to have mutual discussions regarding outstanding issues, including the number of days required to complete the proceedings, the Procedural Order (“PO”) and the Issues List (“IL”). By way of information, these issues were to be canvassed at the first CMC, but no decision could be made because the Parties requested for more time to resolve their differences.
2The Tribunal scheduled a second CMC for April 9, 2025, but subsequently adjourned it to June 11, 2025, as a result of a joint request from the Parties. It also ordered the Parties to submit the PO, and the IL, a month before the second CMC. However, the PO, and IL were submitted to the Tribunal on June 10, 2025.
HEARING COMPLETED ON JUNE 11, 2025
3Robert Howe, Counsel for the Appellants, explained the delay in getting back to the Tribunal with the IL and PO, which were submitted to the City the day before the second CMC. He explained that the Appellants had submitted a secondary application to the City after the completion of the first CMC, to which the latter had had expressed some concerns regarding noise but had not submitted a formal response. Adding that a formal response was expected by late July 2025, Mr. Howe stated that he wanted the Tribunal to also note that the Parties may have to call upon the Tribunal for mediation, should differences not be resolved between the Parties, should the City’s concerns over the noise issue remain unresolved. Mr. Howe requested that this decision specifically refer to the expected response from the City in July 2025, as well as the possibility of Tribunal led mediation.
PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
4Mr. Howe also stated that notwithstanding a difference of opinion on some issues, the Parties were in agreement about the contents of both the PO, and IL, both of which had been submitted to this Tribunal, just prior to the CMC.
5Mr. Howe added that the Parties had agreed that they would need ten days to complete the hearing, based on the number of witnesses to be produced by each side. He proposed that the hearing commence on November 24, 2025, and be completed by December 5, 2025. Nicole Auty, Counsel for the City said that she would have to check with her witnesses to ensure that her witnesses were available to appear before the Tribunal during the 10-day period alluded to by Mr. Howe. The Tribunal agreed to her request to be given till June 20, 2025, to confirm the availability of her witnesses, and agreed to not issue any Decision and Order, till the City confirmed the availability of its witnesses. Ms. Auty also stated her agreement with other points raised by Mr. Howe and had nothing to add to his comments. The Tribunal thanked the Parties, and adjourned the Hearing.
6In the absence of a response from the City by June 20, 2025, the Tribunal contacted the former on June 24, 2025, to ask for an update, and was informed that the City’s witnesses were available from Monday, November 24, 2025, to Friday, December 5, 2025.
MERIT HEARING
7A 10-day hearing will commence on Monday, November 24, 2025, to Friday, December 5, 2025. at 10 a.m. by video conferencing:
GoTo Meeting : https://meet.goto.com/370987861
Access Code: 370-987-861
8Parties are asked to log in to the video hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
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 GoToMeeting 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 in to an audio-only telephone line: (Toll-Free) 1 888 455 1389 or +1 (647) 497-9391. The Access Code is indicated above.
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 Video Hearing 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.
ORDER
12THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT: the Procedural Order appended to this Decision as Schedule 1 shall govern the future conduct of this proceeding. This Member is not seized but may be available for additional case management where appropriate.
13The hearing shall commence as described above.
“S. Gopikrishna”
S. GOPIKRISHNA
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.
SCHEDULE 1
CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-001042
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit residential townhouse development
Reference Number: OR07/24
Property Address: 245 Riverbank Drive
Municipality: City of Cambridge
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-001042
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-001042
OLT Case Name: Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd. v. Cambridge (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant/Appellant: Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd.
Subject: Appeal of decision - OPA/ZBA - Permit residential townhouse development
Description: To permit residential townhouse development
Reference Number: OR07/24
Property Address: 245 Riverbank Drive
Municipality/UT: City of Cambridge
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-001043
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-001042
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
- The video hearing will begin on Monday, November 24, 2025 at 10 a.m. through the following link:
GoTo Meeting : https://meet.goto.com/370987861
Access Code: 370-987-861
The parties’ initial estimation of the length of the hearing is 10 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 procedural order deadlines are summarized in Attachment 1.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are listed in Attachment 2.
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 3. There will be no changes to the Issues List unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it. However, issues may be removed or scoped if issues are resolved prior to the hearing.
The order of evidence is set out in Attachment 4. 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 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 the witnesses are intended to be called. This list must be delivered on or before Wednesday, September 3, 2025 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 discipline(s) shall have at least one meeting on or before Friday, September 19, 2025 to use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. The discussions at the Experts Meetings will be undertaken on a without prejudice basis. Following the experts’ meeting(s), the expert witnesses must prepare a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues, which must be filed by the parties with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before Friday, September 26, 2025.
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, and shall include a completed Acknowledgment of Expert’s Duty Form. Copies must be provided as in paragraph 13. 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 133 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 Friday, October 10, 2025 the parties shall provide copies of their witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
On or before Friday, October 10, 2025, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the Tribunal case coordinator and 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 Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the parties may provide to all other parties the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
On or before Monday, October 20, 2025, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before Monday, November 10, 2025, 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.
A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. Such a motion shall be in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rule 10, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties and participants at least 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.
A party who provides a witness’ written evidence to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
The parties shall prepare and provide to the OLT case co-ordinator a Joint Document Book on or before Monday, November 17, 2025 in accordance with paragraph 22.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Monday, November 17, 2025 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 unless otherwise directed. 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. All documents to be filed with the Tribunal shall be organized, tabbed and digitally searchable and such materials will be filed in accordance with directions contained in the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illnessError! Reference source not found.. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.
The purpose of this Procedural Order and the meaning of the terms used in this Procedural Order are set out in Attachment 5.
ATTACHMENT 1
SUMMARY OF DATES
DATE EVENT
September 3, 2025 Exchange of witness lists (names, disciplines and order to be called)
September 19, 2025 Experts meeting prior to this date
September 26, 2025 Agreed Statement of Facts and Issues
October 10, 2025 Exchange of Witness Statements, summoned witness outlines and Participant Statements
November 4, 2025 Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)
October 20, 2025 Parties to Advise Tribunal if any hearing dates are to be released from the hearing calendar (if any)
November 10, 2025 Exchange of visual evidence (if any)
November 17, 2025 Finalize Joint Document Book
November 17, 2025 Hearing Plan filed with the Tribunal
November 24, 2025 Hearing commences
ATTACHMENT 2
LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS
Parties
Intermarket CAM Phase 2 Ltd. Goodmans LLP Bay Adelaide Centre - West Tower 333 Bay Street, Suite 3400 Toronto ON M5H 2S7 Rob Howe Email: rhowe@goodmans.ca Tel: 416.597.5158
City of Cambridge City of Cambridge City Hall 50 Dickson Street PO Box 669 Cambridge ON N1R 1S8 Nicole Auty Email: autyn@cambridge.ca Tel: (519) 513-7057
Participants
Robert brown 288 Riverbank Drive Cambridge ON Email: garnet5t@yahoo.ca Tel: 519-574-1412 Michael Reid Email: ocacommunicationsdirector@gmail.com Tel: 416.802.0518
Caroline Berch 222 Riverbank Drive Cambridge ON Email: berchca@gmail.com Tel: 519-219-2969
ATTACHMENT 3
ISSUES LIST
NOTE: The identification of an issue on this list by a Party indicates that Party’s intent to lead evidence or make legal argument regarding that issue at the hearing. The identification of an issue on the Issues List does not constitute an acknowledgement by the Tribunal or any Party that the issue is either relevant or appropriate, which may be matters to be addressed at the hearing. No Party shall advance an issue not identified on the Issues List without leave of the Tribunal.
City of Cambridge
Do the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications (the “Applications”) have regard for matters of provincial interest set out in section 2 of the Planning Act, including ss. 2(h), (n), (o), (p) and (r)?
Are the Applications consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS, 2024) including sections 2.2 and 3.5?
Do the Applications conform to the City (formerly Regional) Official Plan, including policies 2.H.1.10, 2.I.1, 2.I.2, 3.A, 3G.27, 7A and associated schedules and maps and any other policies that relate to intensification, employment uses, land use compatibility and/or the provision of housing?
Do the Applications conform to the City of Cambridge Official Plan, including policies 2.1, 2.2, 2.8, 3d), 3.A.3, 4.14, Chapter 5, 6.2d), 6.8, 8.4.2, 8.4.3, 8.5.1g), 8.5.2.5, 10.7 and associated schedules and maps, and any other policies that relate to intensification, employment uses, land use compatibility and/or the provision of housing?
Do the Applications appropriately address the heritage attributes of Riverbank Drive, including its designation as a scenic heritage road in the North Cambridge Secondary Plan and as a key rural roadscape in Heritage Master Plan (2008)?
Do the Applications appropriately address transportation issues related to access to the site for both primary and emergency access points?
Do the Applications comply with the City’s access policies and Engineering Standards and Development manual?
Is the proposed land use compatible with adjacent industrial land uses?
Do the Applications have regard for MECP NPC-300?
Is the use of a Class 4 designation in accordance with the MECP NPC-300 guideline appropriate?
Do the Applications appropriately address noise impacts, for all the proposed buildings, adjacent stationary and transportation sources? Are there any zoning or implementation measures relating to noise that must be identified within the planning instruments?
Do the proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment adequately address protection of ground water resources as it relates to the use of geothermal wells?
Do the Applications adequately address floodplain policies? Do the proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment require implementation of a special provision to ensure no development occurs within the floodplain?
Do the Applications represent good planning and is approval of the Applications in the public interest?
ATTACHMENT 4
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
Intermarket Cam Phase 2 Ltd.
City of Cambridge
Reply by Intermarket Cam Phase 2 Ltd., if any
ATTACHMENT 5
Purpose of the Procedural Order and Meaning of Terms
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. If an unincorporated group wishes to become a Party, 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 authorization 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, must ask the Tribunal to permit this.
Participant is an individual, group or corporation, whether represented by a lawyer or not, who may attend only part of the proceeding but who makes a written statement to the Tribunal on all or some of the issues in the hearing in accordance with Rule 7.7 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. Paragraph 17 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Act, 2021 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 and Visual Evidence:
Written evidence includes all written material, reports, studies, documents, letters and witness statements which a Party 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 intends to present as evidence at the hearing.
Witness Statements:
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 the witness will discuss and the witness’ opinions on those issues; and a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.
An expert witness statement should include the expert’s (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 for the opinions and (5) a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.
A participant statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which the participant will address and a short outline of the evidence on those issues; and a list of reports, relied upon, if any, which the participant will provide to the Tribunal for consideration of the written statement at the hearing.
Additional Information:
Summons: A Party must ask a Tribunal Member or the senior staff of the Tribunal to issue a summons. This request must be made before the time that the list of witnesses is provided to the Tribunal and the Parties (see Rule 13 on the summons procedure). If the Tribunal requests it, an affidavit must be provided indicating how the witness’ evidence is relevant to the hearing. If the Tribunal is not satisfied from the affidavit, it will require that a motion be heard to decide whether the witness should be summoned.
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.
1412-5609-1415.6