Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: September 9, 2025
CASE NO.: OLT-21-001788

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 51(34) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Applicant/Appellant: ONE Properties Limited Partnership (now Ontari Holdings Ltd.)

Subject: Proposed Plan of Subdivision - Failure of the City of Hamilton to make a decision

Purpose: To develop a prestige business park

Property Address: 140 Garner Road East

Municipality: City of Hamilton

OLT Case No: OLT-21-001788

OLT Lead Case No: OLT-21-001788

OLT Case Name: Ontari Holdings Ltd. v. Hamilton (City)

BEFORE:

M.A. SILLS

Tuesday, the 9th

VICE-CHAIR

day of September, 2025

THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order, attached hereto as Schedule “A”, replaces previous Procedural Orders issued in this proceeding and shall be in force and effect for the purpose of governing the required procedures leading up to and including the hearing, which is scheduled to commence on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. The Tribunal has set aside 9 days for the hearing.

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”

PROCEDURAL ORDER

1. 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

2. A video hearing concerning the merits of this appeal will held from Tuesday, February 17, 2026 to Friday, February 27, 2026 at the following location:

GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/656004293

Access Code: 656-004-293

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 9 hearing 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 found in Attachment 1.

4. The parties and participants identified at the case management conference held on May 9, 2022, are set out in Attachment 2. Unless the Tribunal directs otherwise, a person who wishes to become a party or participant at the hearing who is not listed in Attachment 2 must make the necessary motion to the Tribunal. The Tribunal may refuse to grant such status.

5. The issues to be adjudicated at the hearing 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.

6. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 4 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.

7. The meaning of the terms used in this Procedural Order are identified in Attachment 5.

8. Any person granted status to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible. 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.

9. 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

10. A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of their intended witnesses in the order in which the witnesses will be called during the hearing. This list must be delivered on or before Wednesday, September 10, 2025 and in accordance with paragraph 24 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must provide a completed Acknowledgement of Expert’s Duty and include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and detailing the precise area of expertise in which the witness is proposed to be qualified.

11. If the Applicant intends to seek approval of a revised proposal at the hearing, the Applicant shall provide copies of the revised proposal, including all revised plans, drawings, proposed instruments, updated supporting documents and reports which it intends to rely upon, to all the Parties on or before Wednesday, September 17, 2025. The Applicant acknowledges that any revisions to the proposal after that date without the consent of the parties or which do not seek to scope or resolve concerns expressed in the Witness Statement(s) filed by another party, may be grounds for a request to adjourn the hearing.

12. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before Wednesday, October 1, 2025 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 Thursday, October 9, 2025.

13. On or before Friday, October 17, 2025, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

14. 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 24 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.

15. 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 24 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 24 below.

16. On or before Friday, November 14, 2025, 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 24 below.

17. On or before Friday, November 14, 2025, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 24 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

18. Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before Friday, December 19, 2025, in accordance with paragraph 24 below.

19. On or before Friday, January 16, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 24 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

20. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before Friday, January 30, 2026.

21. 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.

22. 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 10 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.

23. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Friday, February 6, 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

“Matthew D.J. Bryan”

MATTHEW D.J. BRYAN

REGISTRAR

ATTACHMENT 1

SUMMARY OF DATES

DATE

EVENT

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025

Exchange of witness lists (names, disciplines, CVs included)

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025

Applicant’s Revised Proposal (if applicable)

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025

Conclusion of Meetings of Like Experts

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025

Agreed Statements of Facts and Issues to be filed

Friday, Oct. 17, 2025

Deadline to advise OLT of any reductions in hearing time

Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Exchange of Witness Statements, summoned witness outlines, Expert Reports and Participant Statements

Friday, Dec. 19, 2025

Exchange of Reply Statements (if any)

Friday, Jan. 16, 2026

Exchange of visual evidence (if any)

Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

Finalize & Submit Joint Document Book

Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Hearing Plan filed with the Tribunal

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026

Hearing commences (9 days)

ATTACHMENT 2 LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS

Parties

Ontari Holdings Ltd.

Aird & Berlis LLP

Patrick Harrington & Meaghan Barrett

Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 1800

Toronto, ON M5J 2T9

Tel: 416-863-1500

Email: pharrington@airdberlis.com mbarrett@airdberlis.com

City of Hamilton

Patrick MacDonald & Rachel McVean

Legal Services Division, Corporate Services Department

50 Main Street East, 5th Floor

Hamilton, ON L8N 1E9

Tel: 905-546-2424 Ext. 4708

Fax: 905-546-4370

Email: Patrick.MacDonald@hamilton.ca

Rachel.McVean@hamilton.ca

Participants

1. Theresa Cardey

2. Stephen Chalastra

3. Marie Covert

4. Brigitte Evering

5. Carolanne Forster

6. Carrie Hewitson

7. Geoffrey Honey

8. Rose Janson

9. Karen Lawrence

10. Gail Lorimer

11. Gord McNulty

12. Henry Muggah

13. Norman Newbery

14. Zoe Green

15. Judy Major-Girardin

16. Joanne Palangio

17. Nancy Hurst

18. James Quinn

19. Aislyn Sax

20. Tom St. Michael

21. Kristina Wilson

22. Norma Young

23. Don McLean

24. Alexis Harriman

25. Bruce Newbold

26. Daniel Coleman

27. Mary Love

28. Peter Appleton

ATTACHMENT 3 ISSUES LIST

Note: The identification of an issue does not mean that all parties agree that such issue, or the manner in which the issue is expressed, is appropriate or relevant to the determination of the Tribunal at the hearing. The extent to which the issues are appropriate, within the jurisdiction of the OLT, or relevant to the determination at the hearing will be a matter of evidence and/or argument at the hearing.

Planning

1. Is the proposed draft plan of subdivision consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement, including but not limited to Policies 2.1.6, 2.3.1.2, 3.5, 2.8.1, 2.8.2, and 6.2.1?

2. Does the proposed draft plan of subdivision conform to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan, including but not limited to Policies E.5.2.7.1 and E.5.5?

3. Does the proposed draft plan of subdivision conform to the Airport Employment Growth District Secondary Plan, including but not limited to Policies B.8.3.5, B.8.4.5.7, and B.8.4.5.8?

4. Is the draft plan of subdivision approval premature until such time as a necessary implementing official plan amendment is adopted and in force?

5. Is draft plan of subdivision approval premature until such time as the necessary zoning by-law amendment to implement the proposal is approved, including any requirements to clear the existing Holding Provision on the subject lands?

6. Does the application have sufficient regard for the matters in s. 51(24) of the Planning Act?

Engineering

7. Does the proposal satisfy all requirements and comments identified by Development Approvals including but not limited to grading, stormwater management and servicing and compliance with UHOP policies C.4.0 and C.5.0?

8. Is there sufficient sanitary sewer capacity for the proposed draft plan of subdivision?

9. Is there sufficient water service capacity for the proposed draft plan of subdivision?

10. Can storm water quality and quantity be managed appropriately by the design of the proposed development considering available capacity of the systems downstream including the culvert on Garner Road, ditches on 328 Garner Road, and in accordance with AEGD sub-watershed plan unitary flow rates?

11. With respect to 328 Garner Road:

a. Does the proposed development have legal/riparian rights for the storm outlet proposed on 328 Garner Road property?

b. Does the SWM design demonstrate no adverse impact on 328 Garner Road property from increased flow duration, erosion and flooding, including emergency spill or overflow from the proposed dry pond?

12. Does the proposed location, footprint, geometry, side slopes, and maintenance access road for the proposed dry pond meet City’s standards?

13. Does the development meet green infrastructure based LID on public ROW and on each individual block in the draft plan in conformity with the AEGD Secondary Plan and sub-watershed master plan?

14. Does the proposed development appropriately consider stormwater conveyance for external drainages through the site to the wetland?

15. Does the functional servicing report submitted by the applicant adequately address issues 7 to 14?

Natural Heritage

16. Does applicant's Environmental Impact Statement demonstrate that the features and functions of the Core Areas will not be negatively impacted, including required setbacks, as required under the Urban Hamilton Official Plan, including but not limited to, C.2.3, C.2.3.3, C.2.5.4, C.2.5.5, C.2.5.8, C.2.5.9, C.2.5.10, C.2.5.12 and C.2.5.13?

17. Does the applicant's Environmental Impact Statement demonstrate that the boundaries of the Core Areas comply with the Urban Hamilton Official Plan policies, including but not limited to C.2.2.2?

18. Has the applicant demonstrated that the proposed development complies with the principles/policies within the AEGD Secondary Plan, including but not limited to, B.8.2.2, B.8.2.11, B.8.12.1, B.8.12.2, 8.9 and B.8.9.3?

19. Does the proposal satisfy the requirements to protect and enhance the natural heritage features within and adjacent to the property as per the natural heritage policies in Provincial policy documents and Urban Hamilton Official Plan including but not limited to Provincial Planning Statement policies 2.9.1 d), 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.1.5, 4.1.6, 4.1.7, 4.1.8, and 4.2, and Urban Hamilton Official Plan Section C.2.0?

20. Has the applicant’s Environmental Impact Statement been prepared as required under the Urban Hamilton Official Plan including but not limited to policies F.3.2.1.1 and F.3.2.1.2?

Traffic and Transportation

21. Does the proposed road network conform to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan and the Airport Employment Growth District Secondary Plan, including but not limited to UHOP Section C.4.0?

22. Does the proposed draft plan of subdivision and road network implement appropriate frequency and location of land accesses to Garner Road East and spacing from the Highway 6 interchange?

23. Does the draft plan of subdivision satisfy the requirement of the Transportation Master Plan for appropriate lot fabric and road network patterns?

24. What road alignment is required in order to address impacts on natural heritage features?

25. Is the consideration of transportation impacts premature without a revised TIS?

26. Does the proposal satisfactorily implement mitigation measures or improvements as required to deal with traffic impacts and has the appellant ensured that the mitigation measures or improvements related to traffic impacts will be undertaken at its cost, including but not limited to: dedication of appropriate ROWs, road widenings, and daylight triangles, provision of cycling facilities, multi-use trails, driveway access, signage, sidewalk installation, HSR stop relocation, and infrastructure improvements?

Forestry

27. Has adequate consideration been given to the protection of trees as per Urban Hamilton Official Plan Volume 1 policy C.2.11.1 and Volume 2 principles B.8.2.2 b), B.8.3.2 a), and B.8.2.11 a) and c) with respect to matters including but not limited to the removal of private trees and the ecological impacts on Core Areas?

Miscellaneous

28. Has the applicant provided all materials required by s. 51(17) of the Planning Act, including but not limited to 51(17)(i) and 51(17)(k)?

29. Does the proposed development provide for the conservation and protection of adjacent cultural heritage resources?

30. Should the appeal be granted, what are the appropriate conditions of draft plan approval?

ATTACHMENT 4

ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Ontari Holdings Ltd.

2. City of Hamilton

3. Reply by Ontari Holdings Ltd., (if any)

ATTACHMENT 5

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.