Dennis Wood’s practice encompasses the full range of approvals processes, hearings processes and court applications and appeals in regard to municipal, land use and environmental matters (including appearances before Municipal Councils (and their committees), Committees of Adjustment, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (formerly the Ontario Municipal Board), Conservation Review Board, environmental tribunals, and Joint Boards established under the Consolidated Hearings Act. Over the 40 plus years of his practice, Dennis has represented a great diversity of clients, both public and private sector, and has been involved in a wide range of land development related matters.
Dennis has also taught at several universities and published leading articles and texts in the areas of the law of land use planning, development charges and environmental approvals.
Dennis is able to develop and advance effective, integrated strategies to deal with political, business, public relations, environmental and regulatory obstacles. He is also able to formulate cost effective, successful approaches in both routine and adversarial proceedings and for projects large and small. Dennis has a reputation for achieving successful results for clients, even under the most difficult circumstances.
Representative Experience
Dennis has represented a great diversity of clients and has been involved in a wide range of land development related matters.
- Dennis has worked with interdisciplinary teams to achieve development approvals for major residential subdivision housing developments, urban condominium developments and mixed use mainstreets projects.
- As counsel for residential and commercial developers, Dennis has successfully led appeals of development charge by-laws, including the negotiation of advantageous settlements for his clients, avoiding expensive hearings. He has also been retained by municipalities to defend their development charge by-laws.
- Dennis has acted for individual homeowners and neighbourhood associations in support of and in opposition to proposed residential development applications, including single family and multi-family variance applications.
- As counsel for one of the largest retail developers in Canada, Dennis has worked with interdisciplinary teams to successfully achieve approvals for over 40 shopping centre projects in Ontario, many of which are anchored by “big-box” format retail stores.
- Dennis has been retained as legal counsel to work closely with scientists and outside consultants to develop solutions to the problem of waste management, including municipal waste, industrial waste, low-level radioactive waste and nuclear fuel waste and to obtain necessary approvals.
The approval processes in regard to many of these projects involved hearings before the Ontario Municipal Board, the Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Assessment Board (now the Environmental Review Tribunal) and other environmental tribunals and the courts.
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