Samantha Foster

Following an application regarding the interpretation of a municipal zoning by-law and legal non-conforming use, the parties made written submissions on costs.

The applicant, a public interest litigant, had partial success but the main issue was decided in favour of the respondents.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs of $40,000 to the respondent Picton Terminals.

The court declined to award costs to the respondent County, finding that its failure to recognize the trans-shipment use in its 2006 zoning by-law generated the uncertainty that led to the application, and recognizing the applicant as a public interest litigant.

The applicant, representing local ratepayers, brought an application to interpret a municipal zoning by-law, arguing that a deep water port facility's trans-shipment operations contravened the by-law.

The respondents argued the operations were protected as a legal non-conforming use.

The court interpreted the historical zoning by-laws and applied the framework for pre-existing uses, finding that the general historic use of the property for trans-shipment of bulk commodities had not fundamentally changed.

The court held that the current operations constituted a reasonable expansion of earlier activities and remained protected as a legal non-conforming use.

The applicant, an incorporated association managing a recreational park, applied to vacate a 1997 court order that established a two-manager governance system.

Three respondent members brought a counter-application challenging the applicant's corporate standing and seeking an external financial audit.

The court found that the applicant lacked standing because the park's constitution was never properly amended to authorize incorporation.

The court partially vacated the 1997 order, removing provisions related to the defunct two-manager system but leaving other substantive provisions intact.

The request for an external audit was dismissed for failing to meet the statutory threshold under the Corporations Act and lacking majority member support.