Item - 2024.IE11.9

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request that the City Manager consult with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on May 28, 2024, on the feasibility of amending Ontario Regulation 596/06 the City of Toronto Act (Local Improvement Charges – Priority Lien Status) and making any other legislative or regulatory amendments as may be required, in order to allow for the installation of a City-owned sanitary sewer on Ridgewood Road as a local improvement, and allow the City to impose local improvement charges in one of the following manners:

a. The City constructs and initially funds the local improvement, and property owners currently serviced by their own septic system be required to connect to the sanitary sewer and pay their portion of the local improvement charge when the property changes owners;

b. The City constructs and initially funds the local improvement, and property owners currently serviced by their own septic system be required to connect to the sanitary sewer and pay their portion of the local improvement charge when their septic system is at the end of its life and / or is to be replaced; or

c. Any other flexible alternatives that would permit the City to construct the sanitary sewer and recover the cost from property owners over time not commencing immediately upon completion of the work.

Approximately 60 properties on Ridgewood Road in Scarborough-Rouge Park are serviced by septic tanks where a municipal sanitary sewer does not exist. Residents expressed interest in connecting to a sanitary sewer and Council authorized staff to undertake a preliminary engineering design in 2022.

At the time, the total cost of the project, including Harmonized Sales Tax was approximately $4.9 million; however, costs have likely increased since that time due to inflationary pressures. Payment for the project would be billed to Ridgewood residents through a local improvement charge that is calculated based on property frontage (frontages range from approximately 50 feet to 135 feet for the impacted residents).

The current system of funding infrastructure through local improvement charges is not widely used throughout the City and is out of date. If a majority of the residents are in favour of the project, all residents will be required to pay whether or not they are able to afford it. My motion requests that the City Manager work with the province to explore potential options for flexibility in advancing the installation of this needed infrastructure, in a way that does not cause a significant financial burden for residents.

It is necessary to move this project forward now, as Transportation Services is planning sidewalk construction and road reconstruction on Ridgewood Road, from Lawrence Avenue East to East Avenue, in the near future and the intention is to coordinate sanitary sewer installation with this work, to minimize costs and disruption to the neighbourhood.