Item - 2019.GL6.16

The General Government and Licensing Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council authorize the Director, Real Estate Services, to initiate expropriation proceedings, if necessary, to acquire the property municipally known as 39 Commissioners Street, legally described in Appendix A and approximately shown in Appendix B to the report (June 10, 2019) from the Acting Director, Real Estate Services.

2.  City Council authorize the Director, Real Estate Services, to serve and publish Notices of Application for Approval to Expropriate the property municipally known as 39 Commissioners Street, to forward any requests for hearings to the Chief Inquiry Officer, to attend any hearings in order to present the City of Toronto's position, and to report the Chief Inquiry Officer's recommendations to City Council for consideration.

This report seeks authority for the City of Toronto to initiate expropriation proceedings for 39 Commissioners Street in connection with the Port Lands Flood Protection project (PLFP).

The PLFP project is a $1.25 billion infrastructure investment by the three levels of government that will provide flood protection to the level of the regulatory storm event (the equivalent of Hurricane Hazel) for the Port Lands and South of Eastern Avenue areas. Led by Waterfront Toronto, but funded by the City, the Province of Ontario, and the Government of Canada, PLFP construction is underway with a targeted completion date in 2024.

As part of PLFP, Commissioners Street needs to be raised, reconstructed, and expanded south of its current alignment to accommodate future vehicular, transit, cycling, pedestrian, and servicing infrastructure. The repositioning of Commissioners Street was approved as part of the 2014 Lower Don Lands Environmental Assessment Master Plan Addendum and Environmental Study Report. The approved alignment will require the right-of-way to traverse 39 Commissioners Street, a privately-held property.

For the past year, Waterfront Toronto has been in ongoing negotiations for a land exchange/acquisition of 39 Commissioners Street from the existing landowner and their tenant. Negotiations are still ongoing, however, if a resolution is not achieved in the near term, construction timelines for PLFP will be adversely impacted. Waterfront Toronto has accordingly requested that the Waterfront Expropriation Protocol be utilized by submitting a Property Expropriation Request Form and relevant documentation to the City of Toronto.