Municipal Law and Land Development

The members of this practice group have extensive experience acting on behalf of private homeowners, small and large developers and institutions on matters involving all aspects of land use planning and development.

Planning Matters

We appear regularly before Committees of Adjustment, Planning Committees, municipal councils and the Ontario Municipal Board.

We assist clients through every step of the land use approval process, including obtaining severances, minor variances, rezonings, Official Plan amendments, draft plans of condominium and subdivision. We have also been involved with larger scale projects including a golf course, big box development and supermarket development. We work closely with planners and engineers, both local and national. We have successfully handled multi-issue developments requiring impact analysis for traffic, hydrogeology, hydrology, archeology, environmental and market issues.

Closing the Deal

In addition to assisting clients through the planning process, our team can complete the deal with first registration in Land Titles, subdivision agreements, conveyances to the municipality, final registration and the ultimate management of single or multi-package lot or unit sales.

We have been involved in the development and sale of many plans of subdivision in the last five years involving in excess of 1,500 lots. Our lawyers have also actively participated in the zoning, planning, registration, financing and sale of eight low-rise condominium projects in the last two years, as this style of home ownership grows in popularity with young professionals and empty nesters.

Aggregate Experience

We also have experience in the aggregate industry, having acted for many years for the large and small aggregate developers and, on an ad hoc basis, for their related associations. We have successfully overcome ratepayer opposition to various aggregate operations in the County of Brant which involved the standard issues of traffic, noise, dust, environmental impacts, impact on the water table and the not-so-usual issue of abandoned gypsum mines along the Grand River.

Out of Town Experience

While much of our work is concentrated in the City of Brantford and the County of Brant, we currently have active files in Norfolk County, the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, the County of Simcoe (Collingwood), the Regional Municipality of Halton, the City of Hamilton, County of Wellington (Guelph) and the District of Muskoka.

Municipal Assessment / Taxation

For a number of years our firm was counsel to the Province of Ontario, Brant Region, in respect of assessment appeals. Accordingly, we have counsel who are well versed in Assessment Review Court policies and procedures as well as appeals therefrom. We have working relationships with appraisers at all levels.

Expropriation

Our firm also handles expropriation proceedings from negotiations through to the Ontario Municipal Board. In the past year alone, we have been involved in approximately ten expropriation matters dealing with the City of Brantford, County of Brant and Province of Ontario. If you are approached by an authority with the power to expropriate, even without the threat of expropriation, our lawyers can assist you to maximize your entitlements and return. Unlike many other areas of the practice of law, this can usually be accomplished without significant risk or cost to you the client. We can counsel you upon the tax aspects of expropriation as well.

Financing

We have also acted on behalf of lenders providing financing to developers for plans of subdivision and low-rise plans of condominium. We act both for private lenders willing to finance initial development and banks and other financial institutions in completing the longer-term financing. Once again, we have good working relations with local lenders, banks, and near-bank lenders.

Conclusion

We enjoy the mutual respect of staff, committees, councils, lenders, developers and professional consultants, resulting in ready access, expeditious approvals and lower costs. Nonetheless, when necessary, we take significant issues to the Ontario Municipal Board for resolution. We appear, on average, before the Board between five and ten times per year on hearings lasting from one-half day to three weeks. Our success rate before the Ontario Municipal Board is over ninety percent.

We would be pleased to meet with you at our offices, your office or on site at a time convenient to you to review your plans and the issues which must be resolved to effectively implement them.