Join us at 10:30 am this Wednesday, March 20th, at City Hall

The first major step in appealing Windsor City Council’s August 13, 2018 zoning decisions is about to take place. The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) Case Management Conference is scheduled to begin at Windsor City Hall at 11:00 am this Wednesday morning. Twenty-nine (29) residents and groups have asked to present their views at this meeting. Come support them - we will be gathering outside City Hall at 10:30 am. This meeting is open to the public. Please join us at the entrance before we go in.  City and hospital officials have attempted to sway public opinion against our appeal. They are suggesting it will cause unnecessary delay to the planning process for much-needed improvements to the hospital system. Yet land use planning appeals are a very common part of the development process throughout the province. In fact, 346 LPAT appeals have been filed from Ontario’s 444 municipalities so far in 2019. LPAT has replaced the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) The LPAT system is designed to keep most decision-making powers within municipalities. Its role is simply to review whether a municipal decision complies with its own Official Plan, and with Provincial Planning Policy. If LPAT finds the municipality hasn't complied with these policies, the decision being appealed will be sent back for reconsideration. City decision-makers and local residents should trust this appeal system as a necessary part of the checks and balances to ensure informed and consistent municipal decision-making.

Click here to see the relevant provisions of Planning Policy

LPAT's roots go back more than a century The LPAT is a successor to the Ontario Railway and Municipal Board, which was established in 1906, and later came to be known as the Ontario Municipal Board. The OMB was Ontario's first independent, quasi-judicial administrative tribunal. The OMB’s jurisdiction has been described as “responsibility for the sound growth and development of municipalities within the framework of statutes with particular regard to economic stability.” Is there any reason why our city would not welcome sound growth and development, and economic stability? In 2018, the OMB was replaced by the LPAT as part of broader legislative reform regarding planning and municipal powers.  The OMB heard approximately 30 appeals from City of Windsor decisions in the last 10 years 1,368 OMB/LPAT decisions were reported across Ontario in 2018, ranging between 98 and 134 cases each month (with no significant changes in numbers following the change from the OMB to the LPAT). Click here to read more.

LPAT ensures good governance and transparency!

For five years, hospital planners have only welcomed positive opinions, while disparaging all public expressions of concern. Don’t believe those who now say it's time to move on.  Please encourage friends and neighbours to learn about the importance of the LPAT process, while this independent tribunal reviews the facts of our case. This is democracy in action!