Owners of A paintball company that tried to relocate its business to Drummond North Elmsley Townshipafter being ejected from Vaughan Side Road in West Carleton as a result of a long legal battle with the City of Ottawa have lost in court again. Mr. Justice Pedlar of the Superior Court of Justice rendered a decision in a recent court case brought by the owners. The issue was whether the owners required a zoning amendment to operate the park. The owners contended that the property had previously been used as an equestrian centre and therefore met the definition of a private park. The judge disagreed deciding that the equestrian center, if it indeed existed had not been brought to the attention of the township and that since it focused on the breeding ,raising and grazing of livestock, it would have fallen within the definition of General Agriculture. He concluded that the proposed use by the owner/applicants was akin to a commercial activity which would require a rezoning. He concluded
I do, therefore, find that the Applicants’ proposed use of the subject property is not as a Private Park but is, in fact, a new commercial use within the rneaning of the Township’s Official Plan and requires an arnendment to the existing Zoning By-law, I make no com-ment whatsoever on the merits of that application. It may very well be that they will be successful in obtaining such a zoning amendment.
It is clear, in my view, that the interests of the community, ag represented by the Respondent Township, must have a voice in the process to discuss the implications for the broader community for the proposed use of their property by the Applicants, in order to arrive at a more balanced approach, recognizing zoning issues as expressions of community interest. The process must be principled and consultative, consistent the existing Planning Act* Official Plan and Zoning By-law, all of which have been arrived at through an established democratic process.
Read the full judgment here. Paintball Ruling
