Sarah Hahn

This was the first Case Management Conference for an appeal brought by the appellant against the respondent's Official Plan Amendment 2, which regulates short-term rental accommodations.

The Tribunal granted party status to the respondent, which will act as the lead for the hearing on the merits.

The Tribunal also noted that this appeal will be heard together with related zoning by-law appeals, and directed the parties to finalize a draft Procedural Order and Issues List.

This was the first Case Management Conference regarding appeals against a zoning by-law regulating short-term rental accommodations in the Township of Tiny.

The Tribunal directed that related appeals concerning the Official Plan Amendment and the Comprehensive Zoning By-law be heard together.

The parties were ordered to prepare a draft Procedural Order and Issues List for the next case management conference.

The parties attended a status hearing before the Ontario Land Tribunal after failing to finalize a settlement regarding an appeal of a municipal development charges by-law.

The Tribunal scheduled a five-day video hearing for July 2023 and a preceding telephone status hearing for May 2023 to review the draft hearing plan.

The applicant appealed the Town of Collingwood's failure to make a decision on applications for a Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision to permit a 100-unit residential development.

Prior to the hearing, the applicant reached settlements with the Town, the County of Simcoe, and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.

Based on the uncontested expert planning evidence, the Tribunal found the proposed development consistent with provincial policies and local official plans.

The appeals were allowed, the Zoning By-law Amendment was approved, and the Draft Plan of Subdivision was approved subject to conditions.

The plaintiffs brought an action against the municipality seeking damages and the removal of a municipal road built on their property in 1986.

The municipality brought a motion to dismiss the action, arguing it was statute-barred, res judicata, and that the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction.

The court found that under section 65(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the mistaken construction of the road constituted a deemed expropriation.

Consequently, the plaintiffs are prohibited from bringing an action for possession or damages in the Superior Court, and their sole remedy is to seek compensation before the Ontario Land Tribunal.

The action was dismissed.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the Township's refusal of consent applications to sever several properties.

The Tribunal granted party status to the County of Simcoe on consent.

The Tribunal also approved the parties' draft Procedural Order and Issues List, and scheduled a three-day video hearing for December 2022.

The Appellants appealed the Town of Parry Sound's approval of a zoning by-law amendment to permit a 14-unit residential building.

At the first Case Management Conference, the Tribunal granted party status to the owner of the subject properties, Eco-Development Group Inc. The Tribunal also approved a Procedural Order and Issues List, and scheduled a two-day video hearing for the appeal.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals by Huntingwood Trails (Collingwood) Ltd. for a zoning by-law amendment and draft plan of subdivision in the Town of Collingwood.

The parties provided an update on the scoping of issues and the withdrawal of certain appellants.

The Tribunal approved the revised Procedural Order and Issues List and confirmed the 25-day hearing of the merits scheduled to commence on August 8, 2022.

The County of Simcoe appealed a Committee of Adjustment decision approving a consent application for a lot boundary adjustment on agricultural lands.

The applicant sought to sever a portion of their farm, separated by a natural heritage feature, and merge it with an adjacent vacant rural residential lot.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal and refused the consent, finding that the proposal was not a 'minor boundary adjustment' but rather the creation of two undersized agricultural lots.

The Tribunal held that the resulting parcels would not conform to the minimum 40-hectare lot size requirement in the Simcoe County Official Plan and were inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement's protection of agricultural resources.

The appellant, a board member of a condominium corporation, appealed the Committee of Adjustment's approval of a minor variance allowing the applicants to construct a deck with a reduced rear yard setback and increased lot coverage.

The appellant argued the variance would interfere with the condominium corporation's easement and restrictive covenants regarding maintenance access to a shoreline revetment.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding that the variance met the four tests under s. 45(1) of the Planning Act and that the enforcement of private restrictive covenants and easements falls outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference for an appeal brought by the appellant against the respondent municipality regarding a development charge by-law.

The parties presented a draft Procedural Order and Issues List.

The Tribunal scheduled a Telephone Conference Call status hearing for September 16, 2022, and a nine-day video hearing on the merits commencing November 7, 2022.

The Tribunal issued the Procedural Order to govern the pre-hearing requirements and the hearing of the appeal.

The appellant appealed a Committee of Adjustment decision granting minor variances to permit the reconstruction and enlargement of a dwelling and sundeck on an undersized waterfront lot.

The appellant failed to attend the hearing and his adjournment request was denied.

Relying on the uncontested expert planning evidence of the Township's planner, the Tribunal found that the variances met the four tests under section 45(1) of the Planning Act, were consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, and represented good planning.

The appeal was dismissed and the variances were authorized subject to conditions.

The appellants appealed the City of Pickering Committee of Adjustment's refusal of a minor variance to permit a maximum lot coverage of 40 percent (instead of 33 percent) to facilitate an addition to an existing dwelling.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal and authorized the variance, relying on uncontested expert planning evidence that the variance met the four tests under s. 45(1) of the Planning Act, was consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, and conformed with the Growth Plan.

In a Case Management Conference for an appeal of a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) issued to an aggregate pit operator, the Tribunal determined the final Issues List.

The appellants sought to include issues relating to aggregate washing, settlement ponds, and groundwater quality impacts from those processes.

The Tribunal held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider aggregate washing and related sewage works in a PTTW appeal, as those matters are governed by a separate Environmental Compliance Approval process under section 53 of the Ontario Water Resources Act.

The Tribunal struck or amended the disputed issues to ensure they strictly related to the taking of water, rather than its subsequent treatment.

The applicants appealed the Township's refusal to amend its Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a contractor's yard for an excavation business on prime agricultural lands.

The applicants argued the use qualified as an 'on-farm diversified use' or 'home industry'.

The Tribunal found the excavation business was a full-scale industrial operation that was not secondary to the principal agricultural use of the property.

The Tribunal held the applications were inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, did not conform to the Growth Plan or the County and Township Official Plans, and dismissed the appeals.

The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a procedural order to govern the proceedings for an appeal by Huntingwood Trails (Collingwood) Ltd. concerning a proposed 170-unit subdivision development.

The order establishes the hearing dates, procedural deadlines, and the consolidated issues list for the 25-day hearing.

The Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals of the Township of Tiny and County of Simcoe Official Plans.

Following a recent decision by the municipalities to designate the subject lands as 'Greenlands', the appellant filed a new appeal and intends to withdraw its previous appeal of a non-decision.

The Tribunal cancelled the upcoming CMC and directed that a new CMC be scheduled to address the new appeal, its consolidation with the existing County Official Plan appeal, and the finalization of a Procedural Order and Issues List.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a third Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the municipality's failure to make a decision on applications for a Zoning By-law Amendment and a plan of subdivision for a 170-unit development.

The applicant withdrew its appeal concerning the east side of the subject lands.

The Tribunal directed the parties to finalize and submit the Procedural Order and Issues List by October 15, 2021.

A final Case Management Conference was scheduled for May 9, 2022, and a five-week video hearing was scheduled to commence on August 8, 2022.

The applicants appealed the Town of Innisfil's refusal of a zoning by-law amendment to permit an in-water boathouse on their property.

Prior to the hearing, the applicants and the Town reached a settlement on a modified proposal, which was opposed by neighbouring property owners.

The Tribunal preferred the evidence of the applicants' land use planning and coastal engineering experts, finding that the modified proposal conformed with the Town's Official Plan, the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, and provincial policies.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal in part, amending the zoning by-law in accordance with the settlement.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a seventh Case Management Conference regarding a land compensation claim under the Expropriations Act.

The parties advised they were continuing discussions, exchanging reports, and intended to seek Tribunal-assisted mediation.

The Tribunal declined to schedule another CMC or hearing date at this time, directing the parties to provide a written progress report or a draft Procedural Order by December 3, 2021.