Report to: From: Chair & Members of the Administration & Planning Standing Committee Troy McHarg, Town Clerk Date: June 18, 2012 Report No. ES-024-12 Subject: Streamlining of Municipal Processes Town-Owned Land Disposition RECOMMENDATION: THAT By-Law #34-95 governing the sale of real property be repealed; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND THAT the draft Land Disposition Policy attached to this report as Appendix A be adopted and incorporated into the Corporate Policy Manual; AND THAT the Land Disposition Policy be effective upon repeal of By-Law 34-95. The Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, C.25 (the Municipal Act, 2001) has been amended by the Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act 2006, S.O. 2006, c.32 and section 268 which previously governed the sale of real property has been repealed. Section 270 of the Municipal Act, 2001, enacted on January 1, 2008, now only requires the Corporation of the Town of Milton to adopt and maintain policies with respect to the sale and other disposition of land. Staff are recommending approval of the attached draft policy which has been reviewed by the Town Solicitor. REPORT Background The requirement for municipalities to declare real estate surplus prior to sale has been removed from the Municipal Act, 2001 along with the provisions and regulations which prescribe notice to be given and which types of real estate that do or do not require appraisals.
Report No.ES-024-12 Page No. 2 This is in keeping with the natural person powers of the Act, allowing municipalities to put in place a policy that best suits the needs of the municipality with respect to the sale or other disposition of land which allows more flexibility and efficiency to be added to the process. Discussion Staff have reviewed policies of other municipalities and it is apparent that there are much more efficient methods and processes currently in use by others that are not currently available to the Town of Milton under By-Law 34-95. Staff is proposing a policy (attached as Appendix A) that accomplishes the following: Greater clarity regarding the process to declare Council s intent to sell land by public resolution. The existing by-law (#34-95) contains provisions that require Council to declare any land surplus prior to selling the land. Then public notice of the disposal of real property must occur at least 10 days prior to the passage of the resolution approving the disposal of the real property of the Town. This process requires two separate reports with two meetings of Council. With some property transactions requiring expediency or solely for government purposes such as road widenings, the current process can be unnecessarily time consuming. The recommended policy makes it very clear that Council must indicate its intent to sell viable parcels by way of public resolution, and then Council must wait until a subsequent meeting, after notice is given, before making any decisions to dispose of the land. For nonviable parcels such as disposition of easements, closed walkways, etc, one report to Council would be sufficient. This would provide greater expediency and prevent unnecessary advertising costs. Flexible Notice Requirements The current by-law provides that notice has to be given for the disposal of any real property. The recommended policy continues to allow for numerous options for notice to be given when Council declares its intent to sell land. Notice can range from listing the property in the Council agenda, posting on the website or, to full publication and neighbourhood circulation. Staff recommends that this flexibility be retained, as it may be desirable to tailor the level of desired notice to the magnitude or significance of the individual parcel.
Report No.ES-024-12 Page No. 3 Definitions and exemptions for certain classes of real estate that will no longer need to be declared surplus prior to sale. The existing by-law does not define different types of real estate, thus requiring that all real estate be declared surplus by council resolution. This is cumbersome and leads to unnecessary delay that, at times, prevent the Town from responding quickly when dealing with other levels of government, or with minor land issues that need to be resolved. To address this issue, the recommended policy contains definitions of viable property and non-viable property. Viable property requires notice declaration prior to sale, and would include: lands which would be eligible for a building permit on their own. lands that can be assembled with other land to increase the development potential of the whole (includes parklands or parts of any park). Non-viable property would be exempt from the requirement to declare intent to sell or give notice prior to sale and would include: a parcel of land being disposed of, by means of a land exchange, for municipal or other government purposes; land which on its own, would not be eligible for a building permit. the leasing of municipally owned land or buildings for a term of less than 21 years. Examples of a non-viable property would be a strip of land added to a residential property that has the effect of increasing their yard size but does not create the ability to sever or redevelop the land, road allowances, closed walkways, reserves, easements, rights-of-ways, etc. Council would continue to approve all land dispositions. Relationship to the Strategic Plan This report relates to the Strategic Plan by supporting the goal of well managed growth, well planned spaces by encouraging cost effective and timely municipal/community infrastructure development.
Report No.ES-024-12 Page No. 4 Financial Impact The financial impact to be realized from this report would be a savings in staff time, as well as a savings in advertising costs due to the exemption of the requirement to give notice prior to sale with respect to non-viable lands. Respectfully submitted, Troy McHarg Town Clerk TM/sve If you have any questions on the content of this report: Shelly van Empel, 905-878-7251 #2131 Attachments: Appendix A Draft Land Disposition Policy CAO Approval:
Appendix A POLICY NO. Page 1 of 3 LAND DISPOSITION POLICY Reference: Staff Report ES-024-12, AP June 18, 2012 PURPOSE To provide a formal policy and procedure, including the giving of notice, governing the sale of real property that are surplus to the Town s needs. 1 DEFINITIONS 1.1 Market Value: the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market as of a specified date under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently, knowledgeably and in their own best interests. 1.2 Non-viable Property: A parcel(s) of land being disposed of, by means of a land exchange, for municipal or other government purposes. Non-viable property shall also include a parcel of land, which, on its own, would not be eligible for a building permit and the leasing of municipally owned land or buildings for a term of less than 21 years. 1.3 Viable Property: a parcel of land, which, on its own, would be eligible for a building permit, or can be assembled with other land to increase the development or redevelopment potential of the whole, and includes any parkland or part of any park. 1.4 Valuation: an independent appraisal or a written opinion of the Market Value of real property. 1.5 Long-term Lease: a leasehold interest with a term, or successive rights to renew, for 21 years or more. 2 INITIAL REQUEST 2.1 All inquiries regarding the possible purchase and sale of Town-owned land should be directed to the Town Clerk. 2.2 Individuals interested in purchasing Town owned land must provide a letter of request to the Town Clerk. The letter of request must contain: the municipal address of the individual, contact information, reasons for his/her request to purchase the land including the proposed or intended use, the address and/or legal description and a location sketch of the said lands. 2.3 The Town Clerk will verify that the lands in question are indeed owned by the Town, and will circulate the Senior Management Team (SMT) with the letter of request, and a location sketch of the property. 2.4 Members of SMT will canvass their staff to determine if it is appropriate to dispose of the lands, or if there are reasons why the Town should not dispose of the land at this time. Staff may recommend conditions on the sale of the land. 2.5 SMT will make a recommendation to the Town Clerk as to whether there should be a disposition of the lands and as to any conditions that should be imposed on the disposition. 2.6 If it is the consensus of SMT that staff will not support the sale of the lands, the Town Clerk will inform the requester of this decision.
Appendix A POLICY NO. Page 2 of 3 LAND DISPOSITION POLICY Reference: Staff Report ES-024-12, AP June 18, 2012 3 DECLARATION OF INTENT TO SELL LAND 3.1 Prior to considering the sale or long-term lease of any viable property owned by the Town, Council shall by resolution, passed at a meeting open to the public, indicate its intent to sell the property and that Council will consider the sale or long term lease of the land via a staff report after such notice has been given. 4 NOTICE 4.1 Council shall, in the resolution indicating its intent to sell, direct that notice be given to the public in accordance with this policy. a) The methods of notice may include: i) advertisements one or more times in a daily or weekly newspaper or newspapers; ii) listing of the real property on the Council Agenda and/or the Town's website as property which is intended for sale; iii) posting a sign on the property indicating the Town's intent to sell; iv) any other means of communication acting reasonably and in good faith, that is deemed to be appropriate in the circumstances, in order to give notice to the public. b) Notice may also be communicated directly by ordinary prepaid mail, or such other means, to any or all of the following: 5. METHODS OF SALE i) The Government of Canada or any of its ministries; ii) The Government of Ontario or any of its ministries or agencies; iii) The Regional Municipality of Halton; iv) The Halton Board of Education and the Halton Roman Catholic School Board; v) Conservation Halton; vi) The adjacent landowners; vii) Such other persons, authorities and bodies Corporate as Council and/or Town Staff shall deem appropriate in the circumstances 5.1 Viable property shall be disposed of, or receive offers to purchase solicited by, one or more of the following methods: a) public auction; b) public tender; c) direct sale by the Town; d) land exchange; e) call for proposal (RFP); f) call for expression of interest (RFEI); g) listing of the real property with a real estate broker.
Appendix A POLICY NO. Page 3 of 3 LAND DISPOSITION POLICY Reference: Staff Report ES-024-12, AP June 18, 2012 6 VALUATION 6.1 Prior to the sale of any property the Town shall have at least one valuation of the market value of the real property. 6.2 Notwithstanding 6.1 all lands being conveyed to the Regional Municipality of Halton for municipal purposes, may be exempt from a valuation. 7 TERMS OF DISPOSITION AND EXEMPTIONS 7.1 Council shall authorize all land dispositions via a staff report. 7.2 Notwithstanding that the public notice of the intended disposition has been given and that one or more interested parties may present to Council an Offer to Purchase the real property, nothing shall fetter the absolute discretion of Council to retain the land or to dispose of the land on such terms and conditions as may be fixed by Council, which shall include the power to sell the real property for nominal consideration (subject to the anti-bonusing provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001, as it may be amended from time to time), and to whomever it wishes, regardless of whether the disposition is to the party which apparently has presented the best offer. 7.2 Notwithstanding sections 3 and 4, non-viable properties are exempt from the Declaration and Notice provisions of this policy, and can therefore be sold by the Town without the need to declare intent to sell or give notice, unless otherwise directed by Council. 7.3 All of the Town s costs with respect to the disposition of non-viable property save and except land exchanges for municipal purposes, shall be recovered from the purchaser or lessee, unless, in the sole opinion of the Town, it is desirable to waive this requirement. In addition, the applicant may be required to enter into an agreement to the satisfaction of the Town Solicitor and pay a deposit toward the expected costs to be incurred by the Town.