Item - 2023.IE2.9

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1.  Requested the City Solicitor, in consultation with Finance and other City divisions and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority as appropriate, to report back to the June 5, 2023 meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on options for:

a. Requiring the owners of adjacent private property, that would directly benefit from ravine slope stabilization, to contribute to the cost of such work, and/or to transfer ravine land to the city or the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) in lieu of such payment,

b.  Notifying insurers of the adjacent private property of the risk of slope instability, and

c. Registering the risk of slope instability against the title of directly affected adjacent lands.

2. Requested the General Manager, Parks Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with the General Manager, Toronto Water and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, to report back to the June 5, 2023 meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee with a schedule and next steps for preparation of a Master Plan for the Vale of Avoca (Yellow Creek ravine).

As climate change intensifies, erosion is causing more and more damage in Toronto’s ravines. In many cases, city infrastructure, water flow paths and ravine ecosystems are at serious risk unless active measures are taken to stabilize the ravine slopes. In addition, adjacent properties may be susceptible to serious damage from such erosion and the risk of slope failure.

Together with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, it has been the city’s practice to request adjacent property owners to share the cost of slope stabilization. This was confirmed in the April 2014 staff report, Coordinated Watercourse Management Plan.

Unfortunately, in many cases, the adjacent property owner does not respond or does not consent. As a result, the necessary slope stabilization work may not be done. If the necessary slope stabilization work is not performed, the slope may fail, putting public and private assets, public safety and the ravines at risk. In order to prevent this result, the public purse may sometimes pay the entire cost of the necessary work. If so, this provides a substantial unearned benefit to uncooperative property owners at public expense, and encourages further lack of cooperation.

This problem is expected to become more severe as climate change increases.