Tribunal will hear Davis Tannery appeal in early 2024
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) held a Case Management Conference on Friday, Apr. 5, 2023 to set rules and a date to hear Jay Patry Inc.’s appeal of City Council’s refusal to amend the Official Plan to allow his proposed development of the Davis Tannery lands.
This was the first Case Management Conference since the Appellant, Jay Patry Inc. (aka 2606609 Ontario Inc.), filed appeals against Kingston City Council’s refusal to approve its Official Plan Amendment application and its Zoning By-law Amendment application under s.17(36) and s.34(11) of the Planning Act respectively. The property is municipally known as 2 River Street.
A Case Management Conference is a hearing event, held prior to the hearing on the merits, which provides the Ontario Land Tribunal with the opportunity to identify parties and participants, identify or narrow the issues, identify facts that may be agreed upon, provide directions for disclosure and exchange of information, and set the date for the hearing.
Today’s Case Management Conference was mainly focused on setting the parameters for the participation of No Clearcuts Kingston, the active environmental protection citizens group from Kingston, which was granted party status in this Ontario Land Tribunal hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.
Party status gives the group the full right to participate in the hearing, including presenting evidence and cross-examining witnesses. No Clearcuts Kingston is being represented by Richard Lindgren, a staff lawyer at the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
Tony Fleming is representing the City of Kingston. No Clearcuts Kingston promised to coordinate and work with the City’s lawyer to ensure that the hearings are as thorough, efficient, and effective as possible.
After some brief and amicable discussion of the parameters of the hearing procedure, the Tribunal set a timeline for the hearing of the case for five weeks in early 2024, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 30th. The matter is scheduled to be held by video conference.
This will be another important test of the Provincial Government’s continuing commitment to control and deplete Municipal and local environmental authorities and community groups ability to manage their communities and environmental futures. It is increasingly clear that for Toronto, rural physical and social environments are commodities to be developed for profit.