Item - 2023.GG7.11

The General Government Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the initiation of expropriation proceedings for temporary easements over parts of 2333 Dundas Street West and 2295 Dundas Street West, as set out in Attachment A (the "Property Requirements") for the purposes of facilitating the renovation of the adjacent City-owned building at 2299 Dundas Street West (the "City Building").

2. City Council grant authority to serve and publish the Notices of Application for Approval to Expropriate for the Property Requirements, 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 temporary easement interests over parts of 2295 Dundas Street West and 2333 Dundas Street West (the "Property Requirements") required to facilitate renovations of an adjacent City-owned building at 2299 Dundas Street West (the "City Building") to accommodate residents and clients from Shelter, Support and Housing Administration's Seaton House.

In January 2020, City Council approved the initiation of expropriation proceedings to acquire the original property requirements with two separate property owners: 1) 2295 Dundas Street West ("Property Owner A"); 2) 2333 Dundas Street West ("Property Owner B"). As a result of negotiations in 2020, Property Owner A agreed to enter into an amicable agreement to register a temporary easement against the property (the "Amicable Easement"). This would have allowed the City to carry out the necessary work with respect to 2295 Dundas Street West. Unfortunately, a negotiated agreement with Property Owner B could not be finalized and consequently the work was not completed. As the Amicable Easement is due to expire on December 31, 2023, City staff are recommending that Stage 1 expropriation proceeding be initiated to protect project timelines, should the ongoing negotiations to extend the duration of the Amicable Easement be unsuccessful.

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 affected 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.