Sale and Other Disposition of Land Policy (DS-4-1)
Kenora, Ontario
· adopted 2017-12-12
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Sale and Other Disposition of Land Policy
Section
Development Services
DATE
December
12, 2017
Approved by
By-law Number:
158-2017
PAGE
1
OF
11
Subsection
Sale and Other
Disposition of Land
Supersedes By-law Number:
138-2000
Policy Number
DS-4-1
1.0
Purpose
1.1
To provide a procedure for governing the sale and other disposition of
land in the ownership of The Corporation of The City of Kenora.
2.0
Policy
2.1
The Council of The Corporation of the City of Kenora will consider at its
sole and absolute discretion, the sale and other disposition of land in
the ownership of The Corporation of The City of Kenora.
2.2
The Council of The Corporation of the City of Kenora will also consider,
as part of its disposition of land policy, the closure and conveyance of
roads owned by the Corporation of The City of Kenora.
3.0
Definitions
3.1
In this policy:
3.1.1 Act means Municipal Act, 2001, S.O 2001, Chapter 25, as amended;
3.1.2 Appraisal means an opinion as to the fair market value of the Land
given by an individual with training and experience in valuing real estate
acceptable to the City;
3.1.3 City means the City of Kenora
3.1.4 Clerk's Department means the Staff and Office of the City Clerk;
3.1.5
City Solicitor means the Solicitor and firm as designated;
3.1.6
City Staff means the Chief Administrative Officer, Manager of
Community and Development Services, City Planner, or designate;
3.1.7
Council means the elected municipal City Council for The
Corporation of The City of Kenora;
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3.1.8
Reference Plan means a deposited plan of survey of the portion
of land to be declared surplus;
3.1.9
Land includes any lands owned by The Corporation of the City of
Kenora or its interest in land;
3.1.10
Road, where used in this policy, shall have the meaning ascribed
to it as more broadly defined in Schedule "D"
3.1.11
Sale includes a lease of 2 years or longer, but does not include a
quit claim for the purpose of confirmation of title ownership;
3.1.12
Tariff of Fees and Charges By-Law means the "Tariff of Fees
By-Law", as amended or replaced from time to time, of The
Corporation of the City of Kenora.
4.0
Exclusions
4.1
This policy shall not apply to:
4.1.1
The sale of Land under Part XI (Sale of Land for Tax Arrears) of
the Act and any related Ontario Regulation made by the Minister;
4.1.2
Land 0.3 metres or less in width acquired in connection with an
approval or decision under the Planning Act;
4.1.3
The sale of Land under Section 110 (Agreements for Municipal
Capital Facilities) of the Municipal Act;
4.1.4
Land transferred to the City for security or for temporary roads or
other works in connection with any agreement to which the City is
a part under the Planning Act;
4.1.5
Land transferred to, or vested in, the City which neither the City
nor the true owner intended to vest or be transferred;
4.1.6
The sale of Land to be used for the establishment and carrying on
of industrial operation and incidental uses;
4.1.7
Cemetery plots owned by the City; or
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4.1.8
Lake access points owned by the City.
5.0
Standards
5.1
The specific policy relating to the closure and sale of any road or
portion thereof owned by the City is more particularly described in
Schedule "A" to this policy.
5.2
Prior to selling any Land, Council shall pass a resolution, consistent or
similar to the forms attached to this policy, declaring the Land to be
surplus.
5.3
A new Reference Plan may be required, at the sole and absolute
discretion of the City Planner or designate.
5.4
Notwithstanding Section 5.2 of this policy, where the laws of the
Province of Ontario specify a particular method of disposition, those
laws shall govern.
5.5
All costs associated with the disposition of Land, including Land
transferred at nominal consideration, shall be borne by the part or
parties acquiring the Land, unless otherwise directed by Council.
5.6
In order to avoid potential conflict of interest issues, before Council
considers the disposition of Land, any employee of the City considering
the acquisition of any parcel of Land from the City shall have first
advised the City Planner (or designate, where the City Planner may
have an interest) of his/her interest. The City Planner shall determine
what, if any, steps are necessary to remove the employee from the
decision-making
and
administrative
processes
related
to
the
disposition of the Land and said process shall be disclosed to Council if
requested.
5.7
The Applicant shall submit an application to the City for consideration.
The application shall be in standard form as determined by the City
Planner from time to time.
5.8
The Application will be evaluated for its consistency with all applicable
legislation, City By-laws and policy.
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6.0
Appraisals
6.1
Subject to Section 6.2, prior to selling any Land, at least one (1)
Appraisal of the fair market value of the Land shall be obtained.
6.2
Section 6.1 of this policy shall not apply to the sale of the following
types of Land:
6.2.1
Closed highways if sold to an owner of land abutting the closed
highway;
6.2.2
Land that does not have direct access to a highway if sold to the
owner of land abutting that Land;
6.2.3
Land repurchased by an owner in accordance with Section 42 of
the Expropriations Act, as amended;
6.2.4
Land sold under Sections 107, 108, and 109 of the Act;
6.2.5
Easements granted to public utilities, telephone companies or
other like agencies; or
6.2.6
Land sold to a municipality, a local board, conservation authority,
the Crown or other similar agencies.
6.3
Any Appraisals obtained shall be used solely as a guide and shall not
be determinative of the terms or price upon which Council may agree
to sell any particular piece of Land. Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, other factors, including but not limited to, the history of
the Land or related lands may be determinative.
7.0
Notice
7.1
Notice shall be given to abutting property owners and owners within
60 metres, of the receipt of an application to purchase and/or the
City's intent to declare land surplus.
7.2
Notice shall be given to a proposed sale at minimum, as per this policy
and the City's Notice By-law, including posting in the newspaper for
two consecutive weeks, and the City's website.
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7.3
Sections 7.1 and 7.2 of this policy does not apply to the sale or
granting of easements to public utilities, telephone companies, or
other like agencies.
8.0
Affidavit of the City Planner
8.1
The City Planner or designate is authorized, directed and empowered
to sign an affidavit, in a form substantially similar to that attached to
this policy as proof that this policy has been complied with.
9.0
General
9.1
The provisions of this policy shall only apply to land owned by the city
and shall not extend to or apply to any personal property of the city.
9.2
The manner in which the city carries out the sale of its land, if
consistent with this policy, is not open to review by any court if the
city may lawfully sell the land, the purchaser may lawfully buy the land
and the city acted in good faith.
10.0 Administration
This policy shall come into force and take effect under by-law
11.0 Schedules
Schedule "A": Policy relating only to the closure and sale of roads
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Schedule A
Policy and Procedure for the Closure and Conveyance of Roads
1. Definitions Specific to This Schedule
1.1
In addition to the definitions outlined above, in this Schedule:
(a) Applicant means the owner of the abutting land to the Road applying to the
City for the road to be stopped up, closed and transferred;
(b) Draft Reference Plan means a draft plan of survey of the portion of Road to
be stopped up, closed and transferred as prepared by an Ontario Land Surveyor
and submitted by the Applicant to the City for approval;
(c) Letter of Authorization means a letter from the Applicant appointing a
representative to act as their agent in this process. The appointed agent shall
receive all communication from the City throughout the process as defined herein;
and
(d) Road means all original road allowances, road allowances, streets, highways,
laneways, access roads, colonization roads or any other road or highway as defined
by the Act or other relevant legislation that is owned by the City.
2. General Provisions
2.1 The Applicant is responsible for paying the application fee, legal services where
required and tracked by City Staff, surveying, appraisal, advertising and land
conveyancing costs involved in the Road closing and conveyance of surplus land by
the city. In the event that an Applicant fails to pay the costs incurred within one (1)
year of Council passing the applicable by-law, all outstanding costs will be added to
the tax roll and collected in the same manner as taxes pursuant to Section 398 of
the Act.
2.2 The required by-law to approve the closure and conveyance of the Road will not
be passed until the current realty taxes on the Applicant's property are paid and the
account is up to date.
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2.3 The land disposition costs are calculated on the square footage of the Road to
be closed and conveyed as determined by the Reference Plan and subject to the
fees set out in the City's Tariff of Fees By-law if applicable, through an appraisal, or
at Council's discretion.
2.4 Applications will be considered terminated if inactive for a period of one (1)
year.
2.5 Applicant must own the property directly abutting the Road.
2.6 Applications will not be approved if the closure of the road would deprive other
land owners of their sole access to their properties.
2.7 Generally, the portion of Road to be closed and conveyed will be determined by
straight lot line projections. However, in some instances deviations from straight
extension of existing lot lines may be considered and may be required by the City in
determining the description of the portion of the Road to be closed and conveyed.
3. Procedure
3.1 The Applicant shall submit an application to the City for consideration. The
application shall be in a standard form as determined by the City Planner from time
to time. The initial application fee shall include:
(a) Review of the application and creation of new file;
(b) Circulations to various departments;
(c) Correspondence with Applicant regarding pre-approval;
(d) Site visit to the subject land(s);
(e) Written notice to abutting neighbour(s) regarding the potential Road closure;
(f) Preparation of preliminary approval report to Council, if required;
(g) Review of Draft Reference Plan;
(h) Preparation of final surplus report and resolutions;
(i) Presentation of by-law to Council and public meeting;
(j) Passing of by-law by Council; and
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(k) Registration of By-law on title.
3.2 Application
The application shall be submitted to the city accompanied by:
(a) Application fee, as per the City Tariff of Fees By-law;
(b) Seasonal (summer) pictures of the Road;
(c) A detailed sketch or site plan "to scale" which clearly shows the following:
(i) the location and measurements of all existing buildings/structures
(including accessory buildings and septics) on the Applicant's property;
(ii) the location and measurements of all existing structures on the City's
property;
(iii) the distance from the structures to the abutting lot lines;
(iv) vegetation, driveways and paths; and
(d) Letter of Authorization, if the Applicant has engaged the services of an agent to
act on their behalf.
3.3 Applications shall be circulated to City Departments including Planning, Roads,
Water, Waste Water and Building for their comment and consideration. Applications
may be granted subject to conditions of such departments (e.g. deeming by-law,
site plan agreement or development permit, etc.) in the sole and absolute
discretion of City Staff and/or Council as outlined in this policy.
3.4 Once preliminary approval is granted, the City will provide a letter notifying the
Applicant or their named agent that preliminary approval has been granted.
3.5 The Applicant will engage the services of an Ontario Land Surveyor familiar
with Road closings to prepare a Draft Reference Plan of the subject Road that must
include:
(a) City Staff or Council pre-approved property lot line extensions; and
(b) All structures on the Applicant's property, if advised by City Staff; and
(c) All structures on the Road.
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Note: the structures may be removed from the Draft Reference Plan once the City
has reviewed and approved the plan. The Draft Reference Plan must not be
deposited in the local registry office until final approval is received from the City.
3.6 City Staff Responsibilities
(a) Contact the Applicant or their named agent/solicitor in writing, requesting the
name of their surveyor, establish costs relating to the legal fees and advertising
and advise of the requirement for appraisal or purchase price for the Road;
(b) Upon receipt of the Draft Reference Plan and following its approval by the City,
advise surveyor to proceed to deposit the Draft Reference Plan. Advise surveyor to
provide City with two (2) copies of the Reference Plan (including an electronic
version);
(c) Perform sub-search of title to confirm the Applicant is the owner of the property
abutting the subject Road;
(d) Provide notice of the application to the following agencies as applicable:
(i) Kenora Hydro or Hydro One as applicable;
(ii) Bell Alliant;
(iii) Shaw Cable;
(iv) Union Gas;
(v) Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry;
(vi) Ontario Power Generation
(vii) Lake of the Woods Control Board
(viii) Other agencies with an interest in the road.
(e) If agencies listed above have an interest in the Road, City Staff shall facilitate
the registration of such interest against title to the Road after the closing thereof
and prior to the transfer of the land to the Applicant;
(f) Request a public meeting date from Clerk's Department;
(g) Prepare the public notice which shall include the property description of the
portion of Road to be stopped up and closed and the Council date when the matter
will come before Council for consideration;
(h) Post the public notice on the City's website for two (2) consecutive weeks and
advertise in a local newspaper for the same period; and
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(i) Prepare the by-law, report and any attachments for the Clerk's Department for
the Council meeting.
3.7 At the scheduled public meeting, Council is required to give consideration to
written comments that may be provided to the City Planner.
3.8 If Council is in agreement, the resolution declaring the land surplus and the by-
law are then passed consecutively in that order by Council at the scheduled public
meeting.
3.9 The Clerk's Department will forward the resolution and executed by-law(s) to
the City Planner or City Solicitor for preparation of the necessary documents for
registration.
3.10 City Staff, the City Solicitor or the Applicant's Solicitor, shall then:
(a) Prepare:
(i) If necessary, the application for the City to be entered as owner; and
(ii) The application to register the road closing by-law;
(b) Register a certified copy of the road closing by-law in accordance Section
34(1) of the Act;
(c) Prepare the affidavit of City Planner, acknowledgements and directions,
transfer/deed and land transfer tax affidavit. The name of the transferee and
manner in which title is to be taken shall be identical to the registered ownership of
the Applicant's abutting lands;
(d) Prepare interim reports to the Applicant, or their named agent or solicitor. The
interim
reports
shall
include
copies
of
the
registered
applications,
the
acknowledgement and direction to which is attached a draft transfer/deed for
execution and the request for the land acquisition fees from the Applicant;
(e) Upon receipt of executed documents from Clerk's Department and the Applicant
together with all applicable fees and funds payable relating to the file, confirm that
all municipal taxes relating to the Applicant's land are current;
(f) Register the required easements (if any);
(g) Register transfer/deed;
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(h) Complete a Merger Agreement and consolidation of the PIN Parcel Registers of
the Land and existing Applicant land(s);
(i) Prepare and forward a final report to the Applicant, or their named agent or
solicitor attaching the registered documents.