The vice chair of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has adjourned the hearing for a Rockwood quarry.
On Oct. 13 Steve Stefanko ruled the hearing would be put on hold indefinitely.
He stated in his 11-page decision that proceedings could reconvene "at a date to be determined" after the board receives "the requisite appeals" under the Planning Act from applicant James Dick Construction Limited (JDCL).
JDCL had appealed to the OMB both rezoning and licensing applications for a quarry at Highway 7 and 6th Line in Guelph-Eramosa.
The fate of the hearing was unclear after Concerned Residents Coalition (CRC) lawyer Chris Barnett pointed out on Sept. 27, the first day of the hearing, that the JDCL bylaw amendment application was actually for a bylaw that no longer exists.
Guelph-Eramosa Township concluded a two-year process this summer to repeal and replace its entire comprehensive zoning bylaw. But JDCL made its application under the old bylaw in 2012.
JDCL lawyer David White argued the OMB hearing should proceed because it is the township’s responsibility to inform the company and the OMB of zoning bylaw changes that could impact the application.
However, in his Oct. 13 ruling Stefanko, citing past cases, stated the municipality was within its rights to pass the new bylaw.
"Although it is arguable as to whether the passage of the new bylaw and its repeal of the former bylaw have resulted in unintended consequences, such consequences … cannot, in law, override the express language of the PA (Planning Act) and the specific powers conferred therein," Stefanko stated.
He also ruled it was not within his power to amend JDCL’s application to address the new 2016 bylaw, as White had requested.
In a statement following the ruling, CRC officials said the group "will await notice of any new application by JDCL, and will continue to stand by its case" against the quarry proposal.
Click here to see .pdf of the ruling.
For more details on the background of the OMB hearing visit http://bit.ly/2e9xqfj.
