Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: August 11, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000271
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Primont Homes (Leslie/John) Inc. Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit a mixed-use development that includes four residential buildings Reference Number: OPA PLAN 21-146653 Property Address: 2300 John Street Municipality/UT: Markham/York OLT Case No: OLT-25-000271 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-25-000271 OLT Case Name: Primont Homes (Leslie/John) Inc. v. Markham (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit a mixed-use development that includes four residential buildings Reference Number: ZBA 21-146653 Property Address: 2300 John Street Municipality/UT: Markham/York OLT Case No: OLT-25-000273 OLT Lead Case No: OLT-25-000271
Heard: July 24, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Primont Homes (Leslie/John) Inc. ("Applicant"/"Appellant") | A. Platt, M. Mickelson (student-at-law) |
| City of Markham ("City") | J. Silver |
| Canadian National Railway Company ("CN") | J. Jakubowski, I. Banach (in absentia) |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. TOUSAW ON JUNE 24, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Introduction
1This first Case Management Conference ("CMC") was convened for the Applicant’s appeals to the absence of decisions by the City on applications for Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment affecting 2300 John Street, Markham ("site").
2The Applicant proposes to replace the site’s commercial plaza and parking lot with four mixed-use buildings of 9, 10, 12 and 26 storeys in height, including 723 residential units.
3No issues were raised pertaining to the Notice of this CMC, and the Applicant’s Affidavit of Service was marked as Exhibit 1.
4This Decision confirms the Tribunal’s rulings to grant Party status to CN, to grant Participant status to numerous area residents, and to set out the process leading to a Hearing on the Merits scheduled for June 2026.
Parties
5The statutory Parties are the Applicant and the City.
6The Tribunal granted Party status to CN, with consent of the statutory Parties, having found that it participated in the City’s public process for these applications, and has provided reasonable grounds to be granted Party status. CN operates the east-west rail corridor abutting the north side of the site. With a proposed sensitive use next to the railway, CN will focus its issues on noise, vibration, air quality, and safety.
7The Tribunal denied the Party status request of Mark VanHelden ("requestor"), who was not in attendance at the CMC. Instead, the Tribunal granted the requestor Participant status. On the submissions of the Parties, the Tribunal found that the requestor failed to participate fully in these proceedings, given his absence at this CMC and his failure to respond to email enquiries from the Applicant seeking clarification in the days before this CMC. The requestor’s dwelling at 76 Snowshoe Crescent backs onto the south side of John Street, across John Street from this site. The Parties suggested, and the Tribunal agreed, that the requestor may have intended to file a Participant request form.
Participants
8The Tribunal granted Participant status to the some 60 requestors, including Mark VanHelden as noted above, without objection from the Parties. As explained by the Tribunal, the Procedural Order ("PO") will establish a date by which further Participant statements may be filed, and Participants are encouraged to work together, where possible (e.g., a group of neighbours), to file collective comments, rather than individually repeating what others have filed.
Next Steps
9The Tribunal approved the Preliminary PO, attached hereto, setting out the dates for the exchange of materials and issues, following which the Parties anticipate requesting the Tribunal to approve the Final PO in October 2025. The Parties have agreed to pursue mediation in an effort to reduce or remove issues. The Parties will advise at the time of the Final PO whether some Hearing days may be removed from the Calendar for this Hearing. A further CMC is not anticipated but may be requested by the Parties if the need arises.
Hearing Dates
10The Hearing on the Merits is scheduled for four weeks by video hearing, commencing on June 1, 2026 at 10 a.m. and ending on or before June 26, 2026. The Tribunal will not sit on June 15, 2026. No further Notice will be issued.
11Parties 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:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/719383509;
Access Code: 719-383-509
12Parties 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.
13Persons 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: +1-647-497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The Access Code is as indicated above.
14Individuals 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 having carriage of this case.
Order
15The Tribunal Orders its rulings as set out above and approves the Preliminary Procedural Order attached as Schedule 1.
"S. Tousaw"
S. TOUSAW VICE CHAIR
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