Divisional Court Rejects Challenge To St. Clair Streetcar Plan

The Divisional Court, in a unanimous decision released February 21, has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by Save our St. Clair Inc. which sought declarations that the St. Clair Avenue dedicated street car right of way was in violation of thePlanning Actand did not comply with theEnvironmental Assessment Act. A copy of the decision is available here .This is the second decision on this application.  An earlier decision which allowed the application for judicial review was withdrawn when 2 members of the panel withdrew based on concerns over a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of Mr. Justice Matlow (see our posting here ). Since the last decision, the OMB approved those parts of the new Toronto Official Plan that addressed transportation policies.  The Court determined that theClergyprinciple did not apply to this case, as the applicant for judicial review (SOS) had not made an application under thePlanning Act, but rather had been an active participant in an extensive public process.  Therefore, the appropriate official plan to consider was the new OP. In looking at the now approved transportation policies of the new Toronto OP, the Court determined that the St. Clair ROW conformed to those policies.  The Court confirmed that the appropriate approach to the interpretation of OP policies is broad and liberal, as opposed to what it saw as a narrow, technical approach proposed by SOS.The Court reserved on the question of costs, asking for written submissions.