The Crpratin f the City f Stratfrd Plicy Manual P.3 Municipal Prperty Dept: Crprate Services Cmmittee: Finance and Labur Relatins Sale and Other Dispsitin f Land Adpted: December 17, 2007 Amended: August 8, 2011, Octber 26, 2015 Reaffirmed: Related Dcuments: Cuncil Plicy Administrative Plicy LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENT Sectin 270 f the Municipal Act, 2001 requires a municipality t adpt and maintain a plicy with respect t its sale and ther dispsitin f land. PURPOSE This Sale and Other Dispsitin f Land Plicy is t prvide a transparent prcess fr the dispsal f surplus municipal prperty and fr giving ntice t the public. APPLICATION This Sale and Other Dispsitin f Land Plicy applies t The Crpratin f the City f Stratfrd ( City ) and any f its lcal bards where applicable. The dispsitin f land by the City shall be in accrdance with the requirements f the Municipal Act, 2001 and the prvisins f this Plicy as applicable. 1.0 DEFINITIONS 1.1 Appraiser means a prfessinal appraiser (P.App) wh is designated an Accredited Appraiser Canadian Institute (AACI) by the Appraisal Institute f Canada; 1.2 Calendar Days includes Saturdays, Sundays and all hlidays bserved by the City; 1.3 CAO means the Chief Administrative Officer f The Crpratin f the City f Stratfrd;
1.4 City means The Crpratin f the City f Stratfrd; 1.5 Clerk means the Clerk f The Crpratin f the City f Stratfrd; 1.6 Cuncil means the Cuncil f The Crpratin f the City f Stratfrd; 1.7 Frmally Used by the Public means City-wned lands and/r buildings t which the public has r had authrized regular use r access. Examples include, but are nt limited t: existing public parking lts, city buildings, recreatin facilities, sprts facilities, but des nt include vacant land, streets r sidewalks, walkways r trails whether pened r unpened, r land and buildings fr municipal services, such as but nt limited t, pumping statins; 1.8 Land r Lands means any real prperty wned by the City subject t this Plicy; 1.9 Market Value means the mst prbable price that the Lands shuld bring in a cmpetitive and pen market with an arm s length buyer as f a specified date under all cnditins necessary fr a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently, knwledgeably and in their wn best interests; 1.10 Municipal Act means the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. c.25 as may be amended and/r replaced frm time t time; 1.11 Newspaper in a prvisin requiring publicatin, means a dcument that is printed in sheet frm, published at regular intervals f a week r less and circulated t the general public and cnsists primarily f news f current events f general interest; 1.12 Published means published in a Newspaper that in the pinin f the Clerk, has such circulatin within the gegraphical limits f Stratfrd as t prvide reasnable ntice t thse affected by, r interested in the Sale f Land and Publishing r Publicatin have a crrespnding meaning; 1.13 Qualified Prfessinal means a registered real estate agent wh is familiar with the area; 1.14 Sale means the sale, transfer, r cnveyance f Land by the City; 1.15 Valuatin means an independent appraisal r written pinin f the Market Value f the Land by an Appraiser r Qualified Prfessinal; 2.0 EXEMPTIONS FROM THIS POLICY 2.1 This Plicy in its entirety des nt apply t the Sale f the fllwing classes f Land: 2.1.1 Land sld under sectin 110 f the Municipal Act Municipal Capital Facilities;
2.1.2 Land t be used fr the establishment and carrying n f industries and industrial peratins and incidental uses; 2.1.3 Land sld under Part XI Sale f Land fr Tax Arrears, f the Municipal Act; 2.1.4 Sale f internment rights as defined by the Funeral, Burial and Crematin Services Act, 2002 S.O. 2002, c.33, as may be amended and/r replaced frm time t time, fr cemetery plts wned by the City; 2.1.5 Land invlving a lease, a life lease, a lease f mre than 21 years, a transfer f easement r right-f-way, a licence, an encrachment, r a quit claim made by the City fr the purpse f crrecting r clarifying title r bundaries f its Land r f land nt wned by the City; 2.1.6 Sale f Land t public bdies including but nt limited t Bards f Educatin, Cnservatin Authrities and Ministries r Agencies f the Prvincial r Federal Gvernments; 2.1.7 Land 0.3 metres r less in width acquired in cnnectin with an apprval r decisin under the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.p.13 as may be amended and/r replaced frm time t time; 2.1.8 Land acquired under the prvisins f the Exprpriatins Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.e.26 as may be amended and/r replaced frm time t time, if the Land is being sld t an wner frm whm the Land was exprpriated; 2.1.9 Land previusly transferred t r acquired by the City fr security r fr temprary rads r ther wrks in cnnectin with any agreement, apprval r decisin made pursuant t the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.p.13 as may be amended and/r replaced frm time t time. 2.2 Ntwithstanding anything cntained in this Plicy, Cuncil may grant an exemptin frm any prvisin(s) f this Plicy by reslutin f Cuncil. 3.0 CONDITIONS 3.1 Prir t the Sale f Land that is subject t this Plicy, Cuncil shall, where applicable: 3.3.1 declare the Land t be surplus t the needs f the City by Cuncil reslutin adpted at a meeting pen t the public; 3.3.2 determine the methd f dispsal at a meeting pen t the public; 3.3.3 btain at least ne Valuatin; 3.3.4 give Ntice f Intent t Declare as Surplus and t Dispse;
3.3.5 give ntice f public meeting and hld a public meeting fr Land that is Frmally Used by the Public; 4.0 EXCLUSIONS VALUATION 4.1 The fllwing classes f Land are exempt frm the prvisins f Subsectin 3.3.3 and d nt require a Valuatin fr the Sale: 4.1.1 clsed highways r clsed walkways if sld t an wner(s) f prperty abutting the clsed highways r clsed walkways; 4.1.2 Land frmerly used fr railway purpses if sld t an wner(s) f prperty abutting the frmer railway land; 4.1.3 Land that des nt have direct access t a highway if sld t the wner(s) f prperty abutting that Land; 4.1.4 Land sld under sectin 107 f the Municipal Act where the City is giving a grant r aid in accrdance with the prvisins f the Municipal Act fr any purpse that Cuncil cnsiders t be in the best interests f the City; 4.1.5 Land sld under sectin 108 f the Municipal Act with respect t encuraging the establishment and initial grwth f small businesses r any class f them in the City. 5.0 NOTICE 5.1 Befre Land is declared surplus, and subject t Sectin 6.0, the Clerk shall give a ntice f intent t declare the Lands as surplus and dispse f the Lands ( Ntice f Intent ) t the public in accrdance with this plicy by any ne r mre f the fllwing methds: 5.1.1 by listing Ntice f Intent t Declare as Surplus and t Dispse n an pen Agenda at least seven (7) Calendar Days prir t the Cuncil meeting; 5.1.2 by publishing Ntice f Intent t Declare as Surplus and t Dispse in a Newspaper at least seven (7) Calendar Days prir t the Cuncil meeting; 5.1.3 by publishing Ntice f Intent t Declare as Surplus and t Dispse n the City website at least seven (7) Calendar Days prir t the Cuncil meeting; 5.1.4 by psting a Fr Sale sign n the subject land at least (7) Calendar Days prir t the Cuncil meeting; r
5.1.5 any ther means f cmmunicatin acting reasnably and in gd faith that is deemed t be apprpriate by the Clerk in the circumstances, in rder t give ntice t the public. 5.2 Ntice f Intent may als be cmmunicated directly by regular prepaid mail r such ther means as determined by the Clerk, t any ne r mre f the fllwing, where applicable: 5.2.1 the Gvernment f Canada r any its ministries; 5.2.2 the Gvernment f Ontari r any f its ministries r agencies; 5.2.3 schl bards that perate schls in Stratfrd; 5.2.4 Upper Thames River Cnservatin Authrity; 5.2.5 abutting and/r adjacent prperty wners; 5.2.6 such ther persns, authrities and bdies Crprate as Cuncil and/r City staff deem apprpriate in the circumstances. 5.3 When the Clerk is required t give a Ntice f Intent, such Ntice may include the fllwing, where applicable as determined by the Clerk: 5.3.1 a brief descriptin f the purpse; 5.3.2 the date, time and lcatin f the pen meeting where Cuncil will cnsider the matter; 5.3.3 a legal descriptin, municipal address and/r key map which in the pinin f the Clerk is sufficient t identity the Lands; 5.3.4 cntact infrmatin f the persn wh can respnd t questins abut the Land. 5.4 If in the pinin f Cuncil, there is an urgent r time-sensitive situatin, ntwithstanding the ntice requirement cntained in this Plicy, Cuncil may direct by Cuncil reslutin an alternate methd f prviding the Ntice f Intent, prvided that a Cuncil reslutin is adpted t describe the alternate methd f giving Ntice f Intent. 5.5 If a decisin is nt made at the Cuncil meeting specified in a Ntice f Intent given under this Plicy, and Cuncil defers/refers cnsideratin f the matter t anther meeting, n further Ntice f Intent t the public shall be required t be given under this Plicy. 6.0 LAND FORMALLY USED BY THE PUBLIC 6.1 Befre Land that is Frmally Used by the Public can be declared surplus by Cuncil, a public meeting shall be held. Ntice f the public meeting shall be given by the Clerk by publishing ntice f public meeting in a Newspaper at least twenty (20) Calendar Days prir t the public meeting.
6.2 After the public meeting, the matter may be scheduled n an pen agenda f a Cmmittee r Sub-cmmittee f Cuncil as determined by the Clerk, withut any further ntice being required. 6.3 After the public meeting, the Cmmittee r Sub-cmmittee f Cuncil may take int cnsideratin the public meeting minutes, cmmunicatins received by Cuncil and any staff reprts prir t making a recmmendatin t Cuncil whether r nt t declare the Land as surplus r retain fr municipal purpses. The Cmmittee r Sub-cmmittee may als make any ther recmmendatins related t the subject Land, including but nt limited t recmmended cnditins f sale. 7.0 VALUATION 7.1 The Valuatin shall be prepared by an Appraiser subject t the prvisins f sectin 7.2. 7.2 Ntwithstanding the prvisins in sectin 7.1, the Valuatin may be prepared by a Qualified Prfessinal where the mst recent assessed value f the Land prvided by the Municipal Prperty Assessment Crpratin (MPAC) r any successr theret, is $30,000 r less. 7.3 A Valuatin required under this Plicy shall be f a date which is within ne (1) year f the date f apprval f an intended Land dispsitin, r within such ther time as is expressly accepted fr a particular Valuatin by reslutin f Cuncil. 7.4 Cuncil may authrize the dispsitin f Land fr ther than the Valuatin if in the pinin f Cuncil it is in the best interest f the City t dispse f Land fr ther than the fair market value. 7.5 Nthing in this Plicy shall be interpreted as fettering the abslute discretin f Cuncil t retain the Land r t dispse f the Land n such terms and cnditins as may be fixed by Cuncil, which shall include the pwer t sell the Land fr nminal cnsideratin (subject t the anti-bnusing prvisins set ut in the Municipal Act) and t whmever Cuncil deems apprpriate regardless f whether the dispsitin is t the party that presented the best ffer. 8.0 METHODS OF DISPOSAL 8.1 The Sale f surplus Land may be by ne r mre f the fllwing methds f dispsal as determined by Cuncil: 8.1.1 call fr prpsals r ffers; 8.1.2 call fr public tender by sealed bids; 8.1.3 direct negtiatins r sale by the City;
8.1.4 sale t a sle surce; 8.1.5 public auctin; 8.1.6 listing with a real estate brker; 8.1.7 land exchange; 8.1.8 anther methd f dispsal determined by Cuncil. 9.0 TERMS OF SALE 9.1 Cuncil reserves the right t adjust the sale price and/r accept a prpsal r ffer fr ther than the sale price where in the pinin f Cuncil, it is in the best interests f the City t d s. 9.2 Cuncil reserves the right that the highest r any prpsal r ffer may nt necessarily be accepted by Cuncil. 9.3 Any dispsitin f Land that is subject t this Plicy shall be ratified by by-law f Cuncil. 9.4 Agreements f purchase and sale and related dcuments required t carry ut the sale f Land shall be executed n behalf f the City by the Mayr and Clerk r their respective deputies upn the passage f a by-law by Cuncil. Where time is f the essence, agreements f purchase and sale may be executed n behalf f the City by the CAO in accrdance with the Delegatin f Authrity By-law, prvided there is a cnditin in the agreement f purchase and sale that acceptance by the City is cnditinal upn the passage f a by-law by Cuncil. This authrity is intended fr designated staff t enter int Agreements f Purchase and Sale with develpment cvenants fr vacant city-wned lands situated in the Wright Business Park, designated business park, r an industrial plan f subdivisin. 9.5 The manner in which Cuncil carries ut the Sale f Land, if cnsistent with the Municipal Act and this Plicy as applicable, is nt pen t review as Cuncil is deemed t have acted in gd faith.
Prcedures fr the Sale and Other Dispsitin f Land In additin t the Sale and Other Dispsitin f Land Plicy, ne r mre f the fllwing prcedures may apply, where applicable: 1. The Sale f Land is a reactinary prcess that requires a trigger t activate the prcedure. Either City staff have identified that the City n lnger requires a parcel f Land r the City received an unslicited written request t purchase Land. 2. The City shall nt cnsider r accept written agreements f purchase and sale prir t the manner f dispsal f the Lands having been established by Cuncil. Further, staff are directed t frthwith return any agreements f purchase and sale t the Purchaser utlining the reasn why the agreement is being returned. Once the manner f dispsal is established by Cuncil, City staff shall ntify any knwn interested parties f the prcess. 3. City staff fr the purpses f prviding advice t Cuncil n whether r nt t dispse f the surplus Land, will research the status f the Land t identify ptential issues. The fllwing infrmatin that may be reviewed includes but is nt limited t: a) applicable zning prvisins; b) need by ther City departments r utilities; c) servicing requirements; d) any encumbrances n the Land; e) des it have street access r is it landlcked; f) is it a rad allwance, clsed rad r lane, unpened rad allwance r lane, public lane, lane r frmer railway lands. 4. If the Land is a rad allwance, clsed rad r lane, unpened rad allwance r lane, public lane r lane, the fllwing may apply: a) City slicitr t cnfirm status f rad r lane b) City staff t determine if easements are required c) City staff t cntact abutting prperty wners t determine their level f interest in acquiring a prtin f the clsed rad r lane, if applicable d) if Cuncil wishes t sell a rad r lane, ntice must be given that Cuncil intends t pass a by-law t permanently clse the rad r lane. The ntice shall cntain cntact infrmatin fr the public t btain additinal infrmatin abut the prpsed clsure by-law. The City will als fllw any legislative requirements under the Municipal Act. 5. If during the departmental review, an apparent need fr the Land is identified, City staff will advise the requestr that the City requires the Land. Apparent need includes, but is nt limited t: existing and future sewers, public utilities, existing and future rad allwances, husing, parkland, sprts fields, and recreatin trails. If the requirement t retain the Land is nt apparent, then the matter may prceed t the CAO r Cuncil fr directin.
6. City staff may prepare a reprt utlining the results f the research, advice and recmmendatins t Cuncil fr their cnsideratin at an In-Camera sessin in accrdance with the Municipal Act. Pssible directins fr Cuncil s cnsideratin include, but are nt limited t: a) d nt declare the Land surplus; r b) direct City staff t d additinal analysis befre prviding directin. 7. If additinal analysis referred t in 6 b) is required, staff will prepare a secndary reprt. Cmpnents f the secndary reprt may include but are nt limited t: results f the Valuatin, if required; establishment f selling price r negtiatin range; recmmended methd f dispsal and cnditins assciated with the ptential sale f Land The dispsal f surplus Land may be by ne r mre f the fllwing methds t be determined by Cuncil: call fr prpsals r ffers call fr public tender by sealed bids direct negtiatins r Sale by the City dispsal t sle surce public auctin listing with a real estate brker land exchange any ther methd f dispsal determined by Cuncil. and such determinatin shall be expressed in a reslutin r by-law which shall als set ut the terms and cnditins f any methd f dispsal as may be determined by Cuncil. marketing strategy fr dispsal f the Land methd f submissin acceptance including deadline and pssible depsits review f draft reslutin incrprating all f the abve, if applicable. 7. The secndary r supplemental reprt may be presented at an In-Camera sessin f Cuncil. Pssible directins fr Cuncil s cnsideratin include but are nt limited t: a) d nt declare the Land surplus; r b) give directin t staff regarding the prpsed dispsal f land, such as but nt limited t prceeding t give Ntice f Intent t Declare Surplus and T Dispse. 8. City staff t implement Cuncil s methd f dispsal. 9. City staff may review submissins fr selling the surplus Land with the City Slicitr t cnfirm cmpliance with the established methd f dispsal and any cnditins.
10. City staff shall prepare a reprt utlining the submissins received fr cnsideratin by Cuncil at an In-camera sessin. Pssible directins fr Cuncil s cnsideratin include but are nt limited t: a) give directin t City staff n which submissins are t be cnsidered at an pen meeting fr their cnsideratin; r b) give directin t City staff t perfrm further cnsultatin r negtiatins; r c) terminate the current prcess withut accepting any submissins and give further directin t staff t: prepare a reslutin t rescind the reslutin that declared the Land t be surplus t the needs f the City; r review the methds f dispsal t cnsider revising r t establish anther methd f dispsal; r maintain the reslutin that declared the Land surplus but defer the Sale fr a specified time perid as determined by Cuncil; ntify the parties that submitted prpsals that the dispsal prcess has been terminated by the City.