Rodney Gill

The defendant brought a motion to set aside a writ of seizure and sale issued to enforce unpaid fines imposed under the Provincial Offences Act.

The municipality had converted the unpaid fines into property tax arrears under the City of Toronto Act and simultaneously pursued enforcement through a writ of seizure and sale.

The court held that where the municipality elected to pursue both enforcement mechanisms, it was required to abide by the statutory regime that provided the property owner greater protection.

Enforcement of the writ of seizure and sale was therefore stayed to align with the tax arrears enforcement timelines under the City of Toronto Act.

The moving party’s claims for monetary compensation were dismissed, though the court allowed recovery of the motion filing fee.

The applicant appealed the Chief Building Official's refusal to issue a building permit for interior renovations to convert a commercial building into a day nursery.

The City refused the permit on the basis that the application failed to comply with applicable law, including site plan control, park levies, development charges, and zoning by-law requirements for a landscape buffer.

The court held that the proposed alterations did not constitute 'development' under the City of Toronto Act, as they did not substantially increase the usability of the building when measured against its actual prior commercial use.

Consequently, site plan control, park levies, and development charges did not apply.

However, the court upheld the requirement for a 1.5-metre landscape buffer under the zoning by-law, finding no acquired rights protected the applicant from this requirement.

The appeal was allowed in part, and the City was directed to issue the building permit subject to the landscape buffer and other reasonable building code issues.