Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: August 05, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000118
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Appellant: Gerry Hensels
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Refusal of request
Description: Alter "Natural Heritage" and "Natural Hazard" designation in order to create two severed lots and one retained lot
Reference Number: OPA 01/24
Property Address: 349 George Street (Plan 117, Part of Lot 5-7N George St. W, William Street, RP, 11R10681, Part 2)
Municipality/UT: Central Elgin/Elgin
OLT Case No: OLT-25-000118
OLT Case Name: Hensels v. Elgin (County)
Heard: July 10, 2025, by Video Conference
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Gerry Hensels | Arkadi Bouchelev |
| Municipality of Central Elgin | Analee Baroudi |
| County of Elgin | Nicholas Loeb |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY BITA M. RAJAEE ON JULY 10, 2025, AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) before the Tribunal with respect to an appeal under section 22(7) of the Planning Act by Gerry Hensels (“Applicant”) resulting from the denial by the Council of the Municipality of Central Elgin (“Municipality”) of an application for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”), relating to lands municipally known as 349 George Street in the Municipality (“Subject Property”).
2The purpose of the OPA is to alter the "Natural Heritage" and "Natural Hazard" designation of the Subject Property. The Applicant wishes to ultimately sever the Subject Property to create two severed lots and one retained lot. An OPA is required to facilitate a future consent application, as the two severed lots will be situated on the eastern portion of the Subject Property, which is currently designated “Natural Heritage” and “Natural Hazard” under the Municipality’s Official Plan.
3At the CMC, the Tribunal canvassed Counsel, who confirmed that there were no issues with the service of the Notice of CMC. The Tribunal is in receipt of two Affidavits of Service, which were marked as Exhibits as follows:
a. The Affidavit of Service of Arkadi Bouchelev, affirmed on June 24, 2025, was marked as Exhibit 1A; and
b. The Affidavit of Service of Terrance Glover, affirmed on June 24, 2025, was marked as Exhibit 1B.
4This confirms that Notice was adequately served, and as such, no further notice is required.
STATUS REQUESTS
5The Tribunal was tasked with adjudicating a number of requests for status.
6The County of Elgin (“County”) submitted a request for Party status. The basis of the request was that the County is the approval authority for OPAs and subdivisions of land, including consents. Moreover, the appeal engages Elgin County Official Plan policies. Additionally, the Hearing is likely to involve analogous issues to those that would be raised during a consent application. The County should be a Party to address those issues during this proceeding so that they do not need to be re-litigated later. The Municipality consented to this request. The Applicant did not object, though the Applicant’s Counsel did state that issues relating to the consent had no place at the Hearing of this appeal, as this only related to the OPA and not to the consent. Despite this caveat, the Tribunal found that the County was an appropriate Party as it met the requirements of being a Party to the proceeding and would assist the Tribunal in adjudicating these issues. As such, the Tribunal granted Party status to the County.
7Participant status requests were received from:
a. Kettle Creek Conservation Authority (“KCCA”): The KCCA has been delegated responsibility to represent provincial interests on matters relating to natural hazards under the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 and section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act. KCCA stated that the technical studies submitted to date do not reasonably address the provincial and local requirements to determine the site-specific limits of the hazard and demonstrate that development has been directed away from hazardous lands. As such, the consent as proposed would be prohibited under applicable regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act. KCCA requested Participant status in order to outline these concerns and issues; and
b. Lorraine Reid: Ms. Reid is opposed to the OPA, and raised concerns relating to privacy, interference with wildlife, impact on the environment (cutting trees, for example), increased flooding and erosion, traffic, and obstruction of views.
8The other Parties did not object to these Participant status requests. The Tribunal determined that these persons had an interest in the matter, and will assist the Tribunal in understanding the potential impacts of the OPA on the local community. The Tribunal granted Participant status to KCCA and Lorraine Reid.
PROCEDURAL ORDER
9Prior to the CMC, the Tribunal received a number of draft versions of the Procedural Order (“PO”) and Issues List (“IL”) that were not on consent. However, by the time of the CMC, the Parties had resolved a few of the discrepancies between them and hoped to resolve all without assistance from the Tribunal. They requested that the Tribunal provide them with some time to address these issues privately. This request was granted, and the Parties were directed to provide a draft PO and IL, or a status update, to the Tribunal, by Thursday, July 31, 2025.
10On July 31, 2025, the Parties requested an extension for providing the draft PO and IL. The Tribunal granted this extension, and the Parties are directed to provide a draft PO and IL by Monday, August 18, 2025. If the Parties are unable to reach an agreement, they can seek a Telephone Conference Call with the Tribunal by contacting the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator.
MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT
11The Parties are directed to advise the Tribunal in writing should they reach a Settlement with respect to some or all of the issues prior to the Hearing. Should the Parties wish to pursue Tribunal-assisted mediation, they were directed to make a written request to the Tribunal through the Case Coordinator for those services.
HEARING
12Given the number of Parties, potential issues, and potential witnesses, the Tribunal agreed that a 10-day Merit Hearing would be sufficient. A Hearing has been scheduled to take place commencing on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. to and including Monday, February 23, 2026, with the Tribunal not sitting on Monday, February 16, 2026 (Family Day).
13The Parties and/or Participants are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections:
GoToMeeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/927921077
Access Code: 927-921-077
14The Parties and/or 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
15Persons 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) 1-888-299-1889. The Access Code is as mentioned above.
16Individuals 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
17THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS as follows:
a. The County of Elgin is now a Party in this proceeding.
b. The following are now Participants in this proceeding:
i. Kettle Creek Conservation Authority; and
ii. Lorraine Reid.
c. The Procedural Order and Issues List is to be provided as directed above in this Decision.
d. The Hearing is scheduled as described above in this Decision.
18There will be no further notice.
19This Member is not seized but may be contacted through the Case Coordinator should procedural issues arise.
“Bita M. Rajaee”
BITA M. RAJAEE
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.