Vaughan Plan: Gridlock at the Mall

NRU
May 14, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

A pair of developers say they’ve waited long enough for a secondary plan to guide development around a major shopping mall in Vaughan and are fighting a recent Ontario Municipal Board decision saying they have to wait longer.

On April 11, board member Jason Chee-Hung issued a decision at a pre-hearing conference that two appeals by Casertano Development Corporation and Sandra Mammone to amend the Vaughan official plan and zoning by-law will be adjourned until September 22.

In his decision, the member accepted a submission by the City of Vaughan to adjourn the hearing to allow time for York Region to amend or approve the Vaughan Mills Centre Secondary Plan. It also determined that the Casertano and Mammone appeals would be consolidated with new appeals expected to arise out of the secondary plan.

In his decision, Chee-Hing wrote that “It would be most fair to all the parties and the public interest would be better served to have these appeals heard on a consolidated basis.”

The Casertano and Mammone appeals have been waiting for their day at the board since 2009.

Solicitor for both developers, Mary Flynn-Guglietti (McMillan LLP) told NRU that her clients have waited long enough to make their case at the board and was unhappy with the member’s decision.

“We had six pre-hearings, and actually adjourned it for a period of two years to give [the City of Vaughan] time to get its secondary plan passed. Even having them fail to do that, the board still granted them this adjournment. I would suggest that the delays are unreasonable and unfair, and that’s been my position since the beginning.”

Flynn-Guglietti, in a submission to the board at the April 11 pre-hearing, opined that the board’s request for an adjournment was unreasonable. Her clients had incurred substantial costs preparing for a hearing they expected to begin in March. Further, Vaughan city staff “had confirmed that the existing [Vaughan Mills Centre Secondary Plan] is sufficient to form the basis for the city’s position at the board in respect to the [Casertano and Mammone] appeals.”

Chee-Hing ultimately rejected her arguments.

Flynn-Guglietti has fi led a section 43 request for a review of Chee-Hing’s decision by the chair of the board. In her request, Flynn-Guglietti writes that errors in the decision “in both fact and law and procedural defect are sufficiently serious to have prejudiced the outcome of the motion.”

In an uncommon decision, board chair Lynda Tanaka granted Flynn-Guglietti’s request in a May 9 letter. Tanaka has asked that a date be scheduled to address both the motion to review the decision and the original motions “disposed of by member Chee-Hing.”

At the heart of the matter is the Vaughan Mills Centre Secondary Plan - a collaboration between DIALOG and MMM Group. Through the secondary plan the city is attempting to address appropriate land use and urban design policies for the area, with an eye to 2031. The secondary plan pertains to the lands between Rutherford Road to the north, Bass Pro Mills Drive to the south, Weston Road to the west and Jane Street to the east, plus a smaller section of land at the southeast intersection of Rutherford Road and Jane Street.

Flynn-Guglietti said that her clients have been patient.

First they waited for Vaughan to approve its 2010 official plan. She said they then agreed at a November 21, 2011 prehearing conference to defer scheduling their appeals for 18 to 24 months, which she understood was sufficient time for the secondary plan to be approved by the region. Subsequently the board set 15 days aside in March 2014 to hear the appeal, but the Vaughan city solicitor brought forth a motion to adjourn the hearing until York Region could properly comment on the secondary plan.

“As time went on, we realized they wouldn’t be finishing it in time, and that’s why we went back to the board in May 2013 and said that [Vaughan is] not keeping to its schedule.”

Vaughan planning commissioner John MacKenzie said staff had a secondary plan in “fairly good form” in spring 2013, but it was delayed due to concerns about the transportation network.

“At that point in time where we presented a draft secondary plan, there was a lot of public concern and council directed us to go back and do more work. Most of that was related to transportation issues, because the development - including [the Casertano and Mammone] proposals - and the other developments in the area would require a great deal of transportation capacity and there is limited transportation capacity without rapid transit on Jane Street.”

A key concern for the area - and the reason the plan was delayed beyond the 24-month timeline - is transportation network capacity issues. Rutherford Road is already considered by staff to be congested, especially during the evening rush hour. While an extension of Bass Pro Mills Drive from Weston Road to Jane Street would provide some relief, there is great concern that allowing too much residential development would exacerbate the road system.

MacKenzie is unsympathetic about the delay. He said Casertano had voluntarily put its appeal on hold in order for the city to process an application for a five-storey office building adjacent to the Casertano site in 2011.

“In exchange for us processing [the office development] and moving that forward... it voluntarily deferred [its appeals] for us to undertake the secondary plan process. [Casertano] put its appeals related to it on hold to allow us to finish the secondary plan. That is what we had agreed to.”

Together the Casertano and Mammone applications propose 3,211 residential units. In addition, Delisle Properties Ltd. has appealed to the board regarding 2901 Rutherford Road, located at the southeast corner of Rutherford and Jane Street. Its original application for 1,730 residential units was revised in February 2014, increasing to 3,700 units and heights of up to 34 storeys. Other parties have taken interest in the appeals, notably expressing concerns about conflicts between the proposed residential uses and existing industrial lands.

The Vaughan Mills Centre Secondary Plan - as approved by Vaughan Committee of the Whole and council in March 2014 - allows for 3,371 residential units with heights of up to 25 storeys in the Jane Street corridor, where Casertano, Mammone and Delisle’s developments are proposed. It is anticipated that York Region council will consider the secondary plan before August 31.