Bill 23 reversal revives Winona rezoning appeal

Ford government retracts bid to scrap third-party appeal rights

Residents fighting the city’s rezoning of a Winona municipal lot to allow for a nine-storey building say they’ll resume their appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal now that the province has backed off from plans to scrap their right to do so.

Eleventh-hour changes to the More Homes Built Faster Act removed a provision that would have no longer allowed thirdparty appeals of development applications and retroactively dismissed existing appeals if a hearing date hadn’t been set by Oct. 25.

Known as Bill 23 prior to final approval, the act’s removal of third-party appeals would have killed the appeal of the 1400 Baseline Rd. rezoning because the tribunal refused to set a hearing date during a Sept. 23 case-management conference.

Appellants were instead told to hire a professional planner and finalize issues in dispute by the end of October, and then work with the city to arrange a hearing date with a case co-ordinator.

Bill 23 put those efforts on hold, but they will now proceed, said Viv Saunders, whose Lakewood Beach Community Council is jointly appealing the rezoning.

The other appellant, Tammy Felts, who lives in a neighbouring townhouse survey to the east of the property, called the bill’s revision “good for democracy.”

“I’m glad that they have finally backtracked on that. That’s the right move from the government,” she said. “We have a voice again.”

Felts said appellants have arranged for a planner if needed, but still hope to work with new area Coun. Jeff Beattie to find a compromise that avoids the need for a hearing.

“We’re just going to wait and see how it plays out with the city and hope we can get a resolution before we have to go forward with the appeal,” she said.

Beattie said he’s concerned about the precedent the Baseline Road rezoning will set for the area, especially with other land tribunal rulings and provincial legislative changes favouring taller residential buildings.

“What would even be our ability to even fight that, if we had a proposal that came for something larger than nine storeys? There’s a lot of moving pieces there,” he said.