Item - 2023.GG6.23

The General Government Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the initiation of expropriation proceedings for a fee simple interest in a portion of the one-foot reserve on Registered Plan 711 illustrated as Part 5 on draft reference plan attached as Attachment A (the "Property") to the report (September 18, 2023) from the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, for the purposes of inclusion in a pedestrian walkway to be constructed from Montclair Avenue to the public street known as Lower Village Gate.

2. City Council grant authority to serve and publish the Notices of Application for Approval to Expropriate Land for the Property, to forward to the Ontario Land Tribunal any requests for hearings received, to attend the hearing(s) to present the City's position, and to report the Ontario Land Tribunal's recommendations to City Council for its consideration.

This report seeks authority to initiate expropriation proceedings for a fee simple interest in a portion of a one-foot reserve at the end of Bantry Avenue, for the purposes of inclusion in a pedestrian walkway to be constructed from Montclair Avenue south towards Bantry Avenue and then to the public street known as Lower Village Gate The pedestrian walkway will provide critical access to the Toronto Transit Commission St. Clair West Subway Station and the Cedarvale Ravine as part of a private condominium development at 63-91 Montclair Avenue.

This is Stage 1 of the expropriation process. Should City Council adopt the recommendations in this report, staff will serve and publish the Notice of Application for Approval to Expropriate in accordance with the Expropriations Act (the "Act"). Owners will have 30 days to request a hearing into whether the City's proposed taking is fair, sound and reasonably necessary.

Staff will report back to City Council with a Stage 2 report, providing details on property values and other costs, and if a hearing is requested, the report of the Ontario Land Tribunal. The proposed expropriation would only be effected after adoption by City Council (as approving authority) of the Stage 2 report, and by registration of an expropriation plan, which would then be followed by the service of further notices as required by the Act.

Before the City could take possession of the expropriated property, offers of compensation based on appraisal reports must be served on each Registered Owner as defined in the Act.