LAND MANAGEMENT: FAQ’s
What is the Process?
The City of Kawartha Lakes has adopted a property acquisition and disposition
by-law in accordance with the Municipal Act. It has also passed a land
management policy, creating a cross-departmental staff team called the “Land
Management Committee”. (The current Chair of the committee is Diane
McFarlane, Land Management Co-ordinator.) A non-refundable fee of $125.00
must accompany each request that is submitted to the Land Management
Department, the fee can be submitted by cash, cheque or bank draft, a fee of
$35.00 will be applied to any N.S.F. cheques.
All requests from interested persons to buy, encroach or obtain right of way to
City land are processed first through this staff committee. If the Committee sees
no immediate or future need for the municipal property, a report is then prepared
for Council to recommend that the property be declared surplus to municipal
needs. It is then available for sale.
If the Committee determines there is a municipal need for the property, the
person making the enquiry is advised by letter. Of course, decisions as to sell or
not to sell property are decisions of the municipal council; not the staff. If the
prospective purchaser still wishes to pursue purchase of the land, the Land
Management Committee will forward that person’s request to the Council, with a
report outlining the Committee’s reasons to recommend retention of the land.
At the time of the creation of the Land Management Committee (July, 2001), the
City of Kawartha Lakes had not passed any by-laws to declare any lands surplus.
Where an inquiry has been outstanding since a date prior to the creation of the
City of Kawartha Lakes by amalgamation (January 1, 2001), it is possible that the
land may already have been declared surplus (by a former municipality). If that
is the case, the by-law of the former municipality continues to be valid, and the
matter can proceed as if the City of Kawartha Lakes had declared the land
surplus itself.
(Note, however, that resolutions to declare properties surplus can be rescinded in
accordance with the Municipal Act.)
Where the Council is inclined to sell a parcel of land, the declaration that the land
is surplus must be advertised prior to any sale. In addition, the municipality is
required in most cases to obtain an appraisal of the land value before selling (see
“road allowances” section below for an exception).
The manner in which a property is to be sold will be part of the Land
Management Committee’s recommendation to the Council in each case. Often,
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there is only one “logical” buyer for land, and in those cases, it is likely that a
direct sale will be recommended.
What will the Council Do?
No staff person or committee can guarantee what the Council will do with a
recommendation to either sell or not to sell a particular parcel of land. The
Council may or may not concur with the staff committee recommendation, and
the Council decision is final.
The sale of municipal property is handled at a meeting open to the public, and
interested persons may attend and/or make representations about their interests,
provided Council’s rules are followed. The City Clerk’s office can provide
assistance with respect to rules for making deputations at Council or Committee
meetings.
You should note that the Council may choose, as land owner, to assert its right to
force any occupier of municipal property to remove any structures on the land
and have the occupier cease using the land.
What types of Properties Might be Sold?
There are three fairly common circumstances where persons approach the City,
seeking to purchase municipally owned property:
A. Municipal Land
Excess Land for the Purpose
Municipalities acquire land for many purposes: parks, walkways, trails, roads,
landfill attenuation, natural areas, works depots, municipal buildings, etc.
Occasionally, more land than is actually needed for the purpose is obtained,
either due to the vendor’s wishes, or due to a change in plans during
development of the property for its intended purpose. In other cases, a
change in plans may result in a project being re-located or discontinued
altogether.
In those situations, there may be extra portions of land which are surplus to
municipal needs, but which are not road allowances.
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Properties that May Have Become Surplus Due to Amalgamation
The Land Management Committee is starting to receive enquiries about
offices and depot buildings that had been used by the former municipalities
but are not currently in use by the administration of the City of Kawartha
Lakes.
Properties that Are Not Surplus
It is conceivable that the Land Management Committee may review, and
Council may approve, a request to purchase land that was not considered
surplus to municipal needs at the time the enquiry was made.
For example, assume the City is holding a parcel of land for development of a
future park. However, the land is not centrally located to the community that it
is going to eventually serve. The land is not surplus; because the park is
needed, and the plans are proceeding to develop it. If a property owner of
land more centrally located to the park community had a development
proposal more suited to the City parcel, that owner might approach the City to
explore a land exchange. Before the City could complete the exchange, the
municipal parcel would have to be declared surplus. It would not have been
considered to be surplus if the replacement property had not been available.
B. Road Allowances
There are many situations where roads were originally laid out so that they
lead directly into water. Often the last several feet (or several hundred feet)
of those road allowance properties were never developed as travelable roads,
and they remain “unopened” and in public ownership. These unopened roads
sometimes create what appear to be “lots” between two homes or cottages.
Others are within a forested or natural area, and are “invisible” to all but
property surveyors. Some of them may have been developed as public boat
launches. In many cases here, also, neighbouring owners have, over the
years, encroached onto the road allowances with structures, landscaping,
septic beds or wells, etc. Sometimes neighbours have come together and
jointly built docks or benches or stairs, etc. (either with or without municipal
permission) for mutual enjoyment and/or public use.
Please note that in the fall of 2001, City Council resolved not to sell any road
allowances that lead to water. Requests to occupy these types of road
allowances (or parts of them) should be forwarded to the Land Management
Committee. Based on Council’s resolution, however, those requests will be
denied by the Land Management Committee. The request can be forwarded
to Council if the person enquiring still wishes to pursue the matter.
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Unopened road allowance parcels which are not adjacent to water are also
prevalent throughout Kawartha Lakes. These may be unopened road
allowances between existing farms or other properties. They may be in
circumstances of partial or seasonal use (i.e. used as snowmobile trails or for
farm vehicle access routes only) or they may be in a state where the
neighbouring property owner has occupied them, including circumstances
where someone may have actually fenced the land. Again, there are often
circumstances where neighbouring owners have, over the years, encroached
onto the road allowances with structures, landscaping, septic beds or wells,
etc.
Under the Limitations Act, it is not possible for persons to obtain prescriptive
or “squatter’s rights” against road allowances; even those that are unopened.
Accordingly the unauthorized “trespass” takes place. People have bought
and sold properties with these title problems for years – they are either taking
the risk that the municipality will never “officially” open/construct a road, or
they are unaware of the title problem.
(Note that, under the Municipal Act, where a landowner is in occupation of a
road allowance by fence, that owner may have the right to maintain
possession of that road allowance against all other persons except the
municipality itself.)
The private property owner can “regularize” the trespass in one of three ways:
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purchase the land from the municipality;
lease the land from the municipality; or
obtain a license agreement with the municipality for the
encroachment.
While it may appear that unopened road allowances, especially those that
have been largely occupied by private property owners, have no municipal
purposes, there may be indirect or invisible uses (such as underground
services or overhead wires) or potential future uses (such as walking or
bicycle trails, linear parks, or public access to water that is otherwise entirely
in private ownership).
There are other individual circumstances that might apply. For example, it
might be more palatable for staff to recommend the disposition of an entire
length of road allowance at a given time, rather than recommend piece-meal
purchases that might create small pockets of “public” land which is landlocked or accessible only by water.
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C. Shoreline Road Allowances
Shoreline road allowances exist on many lakes within Ontario. Crown
surveyors reserved a 66 foot wide road allowance around the edges of most
Ontario lakes. Although many of these allowances were never opened as
public municipal roads, they remain public property. Recreational and
residential property owners of “lakefront” property often do not own “their” lots
right up to the water’s edge. In many circumstances, the private owner has
encroached onto this space and utilized it as a lot addition, without anyone
being the wiser (until title searches are conducted). There are numerous
circumstances where entire cottages, parts of cottages, boathouses, garages,
playground equipment, landscaping, pools, etc. are actually physically located
on property that is not owned by the person who put up the structure or
undertook the landscaping.
Notes: Sales of all municipal property is on an “as is” basis
What is the cost?
By-law 2010-118, as amended, is a By-law to regulate the acquisition and
disposition of municipal real property in and for the Corporation of the City of
Kawartha Lakes. According to this by-law prior to the disposition of any real
property by the City of Kawartha Lakes at least one appraisal must be obtained
to determine the fair market value of the land.
Exemptions:
Schedule “D” of By-law 2010-118, as amended, sets the price for shoreline road
allowances, or strips of road allowance along the edge of a traveled highway, to
be offered to abutting owners, as follows:
(a) $15.00 per linear foot of highway frontage or $20.00 per linear foot of
water frontage; plus
(b) a fee of $1,500.00 (to cover the City’s staff time expenses); plus
(c) all costs of the land transaction including the cost of all required
notices and surveys or appraisals, legal fees and all documents
required to be registered in the Land Registry Office; and
(d) payment of a non-refundable deposit in the amount of $1,000.00 in
advance of the road closing, to cover the above costs.
It is impossible, therefore, to name the “exact” price in each instance. This
should give a general idea, however. In all other cases, as noted, a land
appraisal must be obtained prior to sale.
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Full Cost Recovery:
In addition to the non-refundable application fee in the amount of $125.00 any
costs that are incurred by the City in connection to a request concerning City
owned land or the disposition of surplus property shall be payable by the
applicant or the proposed purchaser. Such costs shall include:
(a) any legal costs incurred by the City;
(b) any costs incurred through the completion of any required public
notification;
(c) any costs incurred through the completion of any required reference
plans;
(d) any costs incurred through the completion of any appraisals that are
necessary;
(e) and any miscellaneous costs that are incurred by the City.
The following is a list of approximate costs that would be associated with the land
transactions:
(a) Legal Fees
(b) Public Advertising:
(c) Reference Plan of Survey:
(d) Appraisal Fee:
(e) City Staff Time Expense:
$1,500.00 - $2,000.00 +/$1,000.00 +/$2,000.00 - $3,000.00 +/$2,500.00 - $3,000.00 +/$1,500.00
Please note: The above-noted figures are only for informational purposes and
the actual costs will vary depending on the parcel of land that is involved in a
particular transaction.
Circumstances such as clouds on title, for example, or the size/type of parcel of
land can increase costs and are not within the control of the Municipality, the
applicant will be expected to cover any of these costs. In addition to the above,
the applicant is also responsible for any costs owing to the solicitor retained to
act on their behalf. If H.S.T. is applicable it is in addition to the above.
Notes:
The applicant is required to obtain their own legal representation at
their expense.
A fee of $35.00 will apply to any N.S.F. cheques
How long does the Process Take?
Time frames are largely dependent on the individual circumstances of the case.
The Land Management Committee meets once a month. By the time a matter is
reviewed, reported on, approvals are given, surveys are prepared,
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advertisements allowed to run their course and legal work completed, there may
be months between request and actual disposition.
The Council meets the Tuesday afternoons of the second and fourth full weeks in
each month.
If the Council declares land to be surplus, the sale procedure will begin. In all
cases, the surplus declaration must be advertised. If Council has determined
that land should be sold by public tender, then the process will take slightly
longer than if Council has approved a direct sale.
How do I start the process?
If you are interested in applying to purchase land from the municipality please
complete the Application to Purchase form and submit same along with the
applicable $125.00 non-refundable Application Fee.
Your application will be presented to the Land Management Committee for
review. If there are no objections by the Land Management Committee then the
next steps would be as follows:
1. Records Search & Report to Council
Historical records search is completed followed by a Report to Council.
2. Reference Plan & Appraisal
If the Report is approved by Council we will proceed with the Reference
Plan and Appraisal, if applicable. The City requests three quotes from
Surveyors and Appraisers and hires the Surveyor and Appraiser that
provide the lowest quote.
3. Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Once the Reference Plan and Appraisal, if applicable, have been
completed we will prepare and present you with an Agreement of
Purchase and Sale for review, signature and return along with your
lawyers contact information and the $1,000.00 deposit made payable to
the City of Kawartha Lakes by certified cheque.
Once the Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been signed by the Mayor
and Clerk the Land Management Department forwards two copies of the
fully executed Agreement to your lawyer along with a copy of the
Reference Plan and our lawyer’s contact information. We also forward our
legal counsel a fully executed copy of the Agreement, Reference Plan,
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contact information for your lawyer and the draft by-law for review and
approval prior to presenting same to Council.
4. Public Notice & By-law
Once the Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been fully executed by all
parties public advertising is completed for three consecutive weeks.
Once the Public Notice is complete the By-law authorizing the transaction
is presented to Council. If the By-law is passed by Council it is submitted
to the City’s outside legal counsel for registration. Once the By-law has
been registered our legal counsel will contact your legal counsel in order
to set the closing date and complete same.
How do I contact the Land Management Committee?
Address correspondence to the Land Management Committee to:
The Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes
Attention: Diane McFarlane, Land Management Co-ordinator
Land Management Committee
12 Peel Street
P. O. Box 9000
LINDSAY, ONTARIO. K9V 5R8
Diane McFarlane, Land Management Co-ordinator:
Telephone 705-324-9411 ext. 1279
Or (Toll Free) at 1-888-822-2225
Facsimile to: 705-324-2982
Email to: dmcfarlane@city.kawarthalakes.on.ca
Nikki Whaley, Administrative Assistant – Land Management:
Telephone 705-324-9411 ext. 1261
Or (Toll Free) at 1-888-822-2225
Facsimile to: 705-324-2982
Email to: nwhaley@city.kawarthalakes.on.ca
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