Rail Deck Park: Clarity Pending — Novae Res Urbis Toronto

Osler partner Chris Barnett tells Novae Res Urbis Toronto (NRU Toronto) that the format of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) hearing under the Bill 139 regime is prohibitive when it comes to the court’s ability to hear new evidence during witness examination. In her article, Rachael Williams examines how lawyers and city planners are awaiting the LPAT decision on the Rail Deck Park’s future in Toronto. The article explains recent developments with the hearing and how the Ontario government’s introduction of Bill 108, More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019, could provide more clarity to LPAT hearings overall — and to the difficulties associated with the previous Bill 139 regime. Chris tells NRU Toronto that Bill 108 is expected to go through third reading by no later than June 5, 2019. He also says that if Bill 108 is passed, some of the 13 proposed provisions may not all come into effect right away.

“One thing I can say fairly confidently is that everything that was a legacy file is going to stay a legacy file and the question really is, what happens to those Bill 139 appeals that aren’t legacy files, and can any of them become part of the new rules, which are really the old rules. That’s the transition question that nobody knows the answer to,” Chris tells NRU Toronto.

The article also mentions how Chris is in the midst of a hearing involving James Dick Construction Limited’s proposal for the Hidden Quarry proposed to be located in Guelph Eramosa Township.

“It’s a legacy appeal and so I am cross examining and like most hearings, the cross-examinations are revealing things that wouldn’t have been apparent if all you were doing was reading the reports,” Chris tells NRU Toronto.

If you subscribe to NRU Toronto, read author Rachael Williams’ article “Rail Deck Park: Clarity Pending” on May 31, 2019.