March 3, 1998
To: Corporate Services Committee
From: Commissioner of Corporate Services
Subject: Surplus Property declaration
north-east corner Ashtonbee Road and Thermos Road
Ward 14 - Scarborough Wexford
Purpose: a) Approval of a potential public/private partnership to market a remnant parcel of municipally owned land.
b) Declaration of City property as surplus.
Funding: Not required.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) Council declare the property, legally described as Part of Lot 9 Plan 4087, shown in heavy outline on the attached sketch, surplus and that the City intends to sell the lands;
(2) public notice of the proposed sale be given by publication of this report in the Council agenda;
(3) staff negotiate an agreement with the abutting owner, with a view to the joint marketing of the property shown on the attached sketch and report back to Council on the agreement, including the proposed minimum sale price;
(4) if satisfactory arrangements cannot be made for the joint marketing of the property, that the City invite offers to purchase its property; and
(5) appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Background:
In the 1950's, the then Township of Scarborough subdivided a large parcel of land to create an industrial subdivision in the Birchmount Road/Eglinton Avenue area. A rail spur line was later installed. A curve in the spur line created a small, roughly triangularly shaped parcel of land at the corner of Thermos Road and Ashtonbee Road. The size and shape of this remnant property made it difficult to develop, and the Township retained it.
In 1994, the spur line was declared surplus by C.P. Rail, in accordance with a Canadian Transport Board order. As part of an agreement to purchase another part of the rail spur where it abutted Massey Creek, the City of Scarborough acquired the portion of the rail spur adjacent to the remnant industrial site, for the nominal sum of $2.00. Although still roughly triangular, the City property now has an area of .247 ha (.61 acres).
The zoning of the property is MG - General Industrial, with Performance Standards permitting a maximum gross floor area of 75% of the lot area. The Official Plan designates the property for Industrial Uses.
The former City of Scarborough Real Estate Disposal Procedure By-law requires the City, when proposing to dispose of a parcel of land,
a) To publicly declare the property to be surplus;
b) To provide notice to the public of the proposed sale in a manner determined by Council;
c) To obtain at least one written appraisal of the fair market value before entering into an agreement of Purchase and Sale;
d) If the recommended method of disposal is by Public Auction or Public Tender, the conditions of sale and the reserve amount, if applicable, are to be set out in the by-law declaring the property surplus.
Comments:
Although significantly disadvantaged by its shape, the property is of sufficient size to support a small industrial or quasi-industrial building, and the property could be sold on its own, although the estimated value would be much less than a similar sized rectangular property.
Staff approached Informco, the abutting owner to the north, to determine if they were interested in purchasing the property. Although Informco did not wish to proceed with a purchase, subsequent discussions resulted in a proposal to jointly market a portion of their property, together with the City
