Canadian Lawyer InHouse

SEPTEMBER 2016 42 INHOUSE JOHN HRYNIUK T he Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is the new downtown core for the City of Vaughan, one of the fastest- growing municipalities in Canada. The VMC comprises more than 179 hectares located around the intersection of Hwy. 7 and Jane Street. The completed de- velopment will offer a vibrant urban centre. The VMC will also contain the northern- most subway station in the Greater Toronto Area. Claudia Storto, deputy city manager, legal and human resources, is responsible for seeking approval from the Ontario Municipal Board of the VMC Secondary Plan (among other offi - cial plans and secondary plans), which outlines and defi nes the elements that will make up the VMC. The VMC Secondary Plan was the result of a planning process related to city council's adoption of the Vaughan Offi cial Plan 2010 in September 2010. The VMC Secondary Plan was ad- opted by Vaughan's city council in 2010 and modifi ed in 2012. In response, 26 appeals were fi led by landowners with the OMB. Other parties to the litigation include the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Region of York, the Toronto and Region Conser- vation Authority, the York Region District School Board, the York Region Catholic School Board and CN Rail. Recognizing that the sheer number of ap- peals and litigants could signifi cantly ham- per progress in developing the VMC, Storto sought a new approach to manage litigation on this scale. Working with Michael Tosha- kovski, legal counsel, and a city staff team of about 40 professionals from various other departments, she embarked on a plan to use mediation to come to a resolution. "We decided mediation was the way to go with this particular project because we wanted as much agreement and support from all of the stakeholders in the area. We used it as a tool to bring everyone to the table and discuss all the outstanding issues in a collaborative way resulting in as much buy-in for the plan," says Storto. The VMC Secondary Plan is a critical el- ement of the city's new plan as the province has identifi ed the area as an urban growth centre, with ambitious density targets. Lit- igation-related delays would result in sig- nifi cant tax dollars having been invested in a subway line and a bus rapid transit system without the necessary infl ux of development to support them. Storto selected mediation, a form of as- sisted negotiation involving a third party skilled in dispute resolution. "Litigation is a very lengthy and costly process. We selected mediation to move matters along as quickly as we possibly could and to limit the costs and resources used to pursue litigation in the traditional sense," she says. After a year and a half of formal media- tion, the city was able to present a settle- ment to the OMB in Dec. 2015 and achieved a partial approval of its plan. "That was very signifi cant — it was a huge milestone in having the VMC Secondary Plan come to life," she says. Mediation presented the opportunity to resolve the appeals before the matter esca- lated to an expensive and lengthy hearing before the OMB. Numerous informal meetings were held with the appellants between formal media- tion sessions, with both the large group and smaller groups based on common issues. Under Storto's direction, the city under- took several negotiations without the as- sistance of the OMB mediator. Storto led all meetings, along with external counsel Lynda Townsend, partner at WeirFoulds LLP, whom Storto says was "instrumental" in assisting the city with the process. While the city had undertaken mediation related to OMB appeals in the past, it was limited to small matters with only one or two parties. Negotiations will continue in 2016 with hearings to be scheduled in late 2016 and into 2017. Vaughan's experience with mediation speaks to the benefi ts of ADR, and as a high-profi le success, may help reduce the need to reform the OMB. IH Vaughan uses mediation to tackle appeals to OMB By Jennifer Brown re re 9 n of CATEGORY: Litigation Management DEPARTMENT SIZE: Small COMPANY: City of Vaughan Claudia Storto, deputy city manager, legal and human resources, City of Vaughan.

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