Ferrovia Investments Inc. v. Guelph (City), 2026 CanLII 9712

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: February 5, 2026

CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000462

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Appellant 2014707 Ontario Inc. (“Cook Homes”)

Appellant 2738766 Ontario Limited, 2738777 Ontario Limited and 848866 Ontario Limited

Appellant 2742707 Ontario Limited

Appellant 642762 Ontario Inc. and others

Subject: Zoning By-law

Description: City of Guelph new Comprehensive Zoning By-law and related site-specific updates to the Official Plan

Reference Number: ZBA (2023)-20790

Property Address: All lands within the City of Guelph

Municipality/UT: Guelph/Wellington

OLT Case No: OLT-23-000462

OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000462

OLT Case Name: Ferrovia Investments Inc. v. Guelph (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Appellant Forum Asset Management

Appellant Paisley & Whitelaw Inc.

Appellant Silvercreek Guelph Developments Limited and 2089248 Ontario Inc.

Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment

Description: City of Guelph new Comprehensive Zoning By-law and related site-specific updates to the Official Plan

Reference Number: OPA No. 88

Property Address: All lands within the City of Guelph, and site-specific updates

Municipality/UT: Guelph/Wellington

OLT Case No: OLT-23-000463

OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000462

Heard: September 17, 2025 by Video Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Counsel

2738766 Ontario Limited, 2738777 Ontario Limited, and 848866 Ontario Limited

Eric Davis

City of Guelph

Peter Pickfield Allison Thornton Ian White Alex Ciccone (in absentia)

2742707 Ontario Limited

Jasmine Fraser Eileen Costello (in absentia)

Guelph and District Home Builders Association

Kevin Thompson Giovanni Giuga

2793031 Ontario Inc.

Meaghan McDermid

Industrial Equities Guelph Corporation

Jamie Cole Michael Foderick (in absentia)

2014707 Ontario Inc.

Mark de Jong

Guelph Watson Holdings Inc., Loblaw Properties Limited, Silvercreek Guelph Developments Inc., and 2089248 Ontario Inc.

Naomi Marks Tom Halinski (in absentia)

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY CARMINE TUCCI ON September 17, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This matter before the Tribunal concerns the City of Guelph (“City”) review of its Comprehensive Zoning By-law (“CZBL”). This review was initiated in response to the City’s recent comprehensive update to its Official Plan, ensuring alignment with Provincial legislation

2The updated Zoning By-law is intended to fully replace the existing City of Guelph Zoning By-law (1995)-14864. Its purpose is to implement the vision and policies of the current Official Plan, incorporate modern zoning practices, improve usability, and meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The By-law emphasizes built form, streamlines land use categories, and introduces more flexible zoning standards.

3The related Official Plan Amendment No.88 seeks to revise the land use designations of certain properties to better reflect current uses, built form, and zoning permissions. It introduces site-specific policies acknowledging established density permissions on various lands within the city. The Amendment also proposes redesignating certain properties from low-density residential to medium-density residential, high-density residential, or mixed/office commercial, in order to better align with existing development patterns and uses.

4The purpose of this Case Management Conference (“CMC”) was to receive status updates from all parties to organize the hearing of these appeals.

5The Tribunal is in receipt of the Affidavit of Service sworn by Dylan McMahon is marked as Exhibit 1.

STATUS UPDATES

6The Tribunal was presented with the following updates.

7By way of background, following the Tribunal’s February 2024 decision on a City-initiated scoping motion, one City-wide appeal of the CZBL remained, along with 15 site-specific appeals.

8Five of the site-specific appeals have since been resolved through either settlements—requiring only minor modifications to the Tribunal-approved CZBL—or through agreements resulting in the withdrawal of the appeals.

9The remaining City-wide appeal was brought by the Guelph and District Homebuilders’ Association (GDHA). This appeal has been scoped to several regulations affecting various residential zones.

10The Parties have been participating in ongoing expert consultations that have already produced an agreement on several disputed provisions. Constructive discussions still continue on the outstanding matters, with additional meetings planned over the coming months.

11The shared objective is to resolve as many issues as possible and prepare a refined Issues List for any matters that remain unresolved.

12The Parties on consent, agree that the appeal should be adjourned to a settlement hearing and, if required, a subsequent multiple day CMC to establish a Procedural Order and Issues List for a hearing on any remaining contested issues.

13The Tribunal heard that based on anticipated timelines for concluding discussions and finalizing materials, the Parties jointly propose scheduling additional CMCs for the first week of March 2026.

14The nine unresolved site-specific appeals that remain before the Tribunal are:

1. Cook Homes (2014707 Ontario Inc.)
2. Silvercreek Investments Limited
3. Guelph Watson Holdings Inc.
4. Loblaws Properties Limited
5. 642762 Ontario Inc.
6. University Village (Guelph) Limited
7. 2738766 Ontario Limited, 2738777 Ontario Limited and 848866 Ontario Limited (known as the three related numbered companies owning lands at 120 and 125 Malcolm and 45 Lewis)
8. 2742707 Ontario
9. Industrial Equities Guelph Corporation

SECOND CMC HEARING DETAIL

15The Tribunal has scheduled a second multiple day CMC hearing of these appeals commencing on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 through Friday, March 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. Three days have been set aside.

16The Tribunal requests that a joint agenda to govern the CMCs be submitted no later than February 25, 2026.

17Parties and/or Participants and/or Observers are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections:

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

Access code: 656-004-293

18Parties 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

19Persons 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) 497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The access code is: 656-004-293.

20Individuals 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

21The above directives are hereby ordered by the Tribunal.

“Carmine Tucci”

CARMINE TUCCI

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.