Report to/Rapport au :
Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee
Comité des services
organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
15
September 2003 / le 15 septembre 2003
Submitted by/Soumis par : Kent Kirkpatrick, General Manager/Directeur général,
Corporate Services/Services
généraux
and / et
Ned Lathrop, General
Manager/Directeur général,
Development Services/Services
d'aménagement
Contact/Personne
ressource: D. H. McCaslin, Manager, Real Estate Services/
Gestionnaire, Services
immobiliers
580-2424, ext. 22595, Douglas.McCaslin@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET
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REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate Services and Economic
Development Committee recommend Council:
1. Declare a vacant
parcel of land shown on Annex “A” attached, described as part of Lot 11,
Concession 3, in the former City of Kanata, now City of Ottawa, subject to
required easements, surplus to City requirements.
2. Waive City policy
pertaining to internal and external circulation and notice and marketing of
surplus properties and authorize staff to sell the property outlined in
Recommendation 1.
3. Approve the sale of
the land detailed in Recommendation 1, subject to any easements that may be
required, to Minto Land Development Inc., for the amount of $1.00, plus GST,
pursuant to an Agreement of Purchase and Sale that has been received.
4. Waive the remaining
0.936 hectares of land required from Minto for its 5% parkland dedication
requirement for Morgan’s Grant given that:
a) Morgan’s
Grant will have parkland areas representing 8.26% of its area;
b) The Trillium Woods that will be preserved through this exchange
are an important greenspace amenity and parkland for use by Morgan’s Grant
residents and are in addition to the 8.26% already dedicated for parkland.
5. Waive appropriate OPA,
zoning by-law and subdivision amendment application fees for the property
outlined in Recommendation 1 that is to be sold to Minto Land Development Inc.
as outlined in Recommendation 3.
6. Approve the acquisition of vacant land described as part of lots 9
& 10, Concession 3, in the former City of Kanata, now City of Ottawa and
designated as Part 1, Plan 4R-7856, City of Ottawa shown on Annex “B” from
Minto Land Development Inc. for $ 1.00, plus GST.
RECOMMENDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des
services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil
municipal :
1. de
déclarer excédentaire au besoins de la Ville une parcelle de terrain vacante
illustrée dans l’annexe A ci-jointe et décrite comme étant la partie du lot 11,
concession 3 de l’ancienne Ville de Kanata, maintenant Ville d’Ottawa, sous
réserve des servitudes requises;
2. de
déroger à la politique de la Ville s’appliquant à la circulation interne et
externe et à la notification et à la commercialisation des propriétés
excédentaires et d’autoriser le personnel à vendre la propriété visée à la
recommandation 1;
3. d’approuver
la vente du terrain décrit à la recommandation 1, sous réserve des servitudes
requises, à Minto Land Development Inc., pour la somme de 1,00 $, la TPS
en sus, conformément à la convention d’achat et de vente qui a été reçue.
4. de
renoncer au 0,936 hectare de terrain restant dont Minto a besoin afin d’obtenir
5 % des terrains réservés pour la création de parcs qu’exige la communauté
de Morgan’s Grant, sous réserve de ce qui suit :
a) la
communauté de Morgan’s Grant sera constituée de parcs sur 8,26 % de son
territoire;
b) le
Boisé Trillium Woods, qui sera préservé dans cet échange, constitue un
important parc et espace vert d’agrément destiné aux résidents de Morgan’s
Grant et sera ajouté aux 8,26 % réservés au parc.
5. de
renoncer à percevoir des droits de demande de modification au Plan officiel et
aux règlements municipaux de zonage concernant la propriété visée à la
recommandation 1 devant être vendue à Minto Land Development Inc., comme le
précise la recommandation 3.
6. d’approuver
l’acquisition du terrain vacant décrit comme étant la partie des lots 9 et 10,
concession 3 de l’ancienne Ville de Kanata, maintenant la Ville d’Ottawa, et
désigné comme la partie 1 du plan 4R-7856 de la Ville d’Ottawa illustré dans
l’annexe B, de Minto Land Development Inc. pour la somme de 1,00 $, la TPS
en sus.
BACKGROUND
Minto
Land Development Inc. (Minto) owns lands (Trillium Woods) at the southeast
corner of the future intersection of Terry Fox Drive and the Second Line Road
allowance as outlined on Annex “B” which consists of 7.527 ha (18.6 acres). Deciduous trees and some rock outcroppings
primarily cover the lands. These lands were designated as Natural Environment
(A) in the City’s official plan and are considered part of Trillium Woods,
which is adjacent to the South March Highlands.
The
City has purchased approximately 600 acres of Natural Environment Area land
immediately northwest of Trillium Woods for the South March Highlands
area. The Second Line road allowance
serves as the boundary line between the urban and rural boundaries. The South March Highland lands are within
the rural area whereas the Trillium Wood site is located in the urban
area. Annex “B” shows the location of
Trillium Woods (Minto’s land) in relation to the South March Highlands.
Minto
purchased the lands in 1976 as part of a larger land acquisition and it is the
only remaining parcel as all other lands acquired at that time have been
developed and/or sold to other parties.
Minto requested a re-designation of the subject lands under the Regional
Official Plan and City of Kanata Official Plan, a rezoning as well as the
approval of a plan of subdivision to permit a 54 lot residential subdivision of
large single family homes.
The
City refused to approve these planning applications on the grounds that the
subject lands are worthy of protection and should remain undeveloped in the
Natural Environment Area (A) designation for the benefit of the public at large
and to ensure the long-term preservation of the lands.
The
City’s position was to protect the ecological systems, including natural areas
in the area, which is also addressed in the Provincial Policy Statement,
whereby lands shall only be developed in or near provincially significant
woodlands where it can be proven that there will be no loss to the ecological
function of the woodland.
Since
an agreement could not be reached between Minto and the City, Minto appealed to
the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) due to City Council’s refusal to enact
proposed amendments to the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton and Kanata Official
Plans and Zoning By-law 18-69 to rezone the Trillium Wood lands and the failure
by the City to make a decision on the draft plan of subdivision to permit
residential development.
The
OMB issued its decision (Decision/order No: 1697) on 12 December 2002. The decision found that Minto’s proposed
development had regard for the Provincial Policy Statement, which set aside 18%
(3.24 acres) of the total area of the subject lands for open space. Hence, the Official Plan and zoning by-law
are to be amended and the draft plan of subdivision to be approved subject to
preparing draft plan conditions to allow development to proceed.
The environmental significance of the Natural
Environment lands has never been disputed, neither by the environmentalist who
studied these lands on behalf of the municipality, nor by the owner’s
ecologist. The Trillium Woods lands are considered to be a significant area
both in terms of vegetation and bedrock outcrops and are located within the
South March Highlands, a Candidate Life Science Area of Natural and Scientific
Interest (ANSI). The issue has come
down to the City’s obligations to acquire the lands from the property owner and
the OMB has ruled that in order to preserve these lands the City has an
obligation to acquire them. The Board
Member in his decision states, “outright acquisition of all of these lands by
the City would be preferable”.
City
staff met with representatives from Minto earlier this year to discuss options
for acquiring the Trillium Woods lands.
This resulted in a proposed land exchange for lands that the City owned
in the same general area as the Trillium Woods lands.
The
site under consideration for exchange with Minto is located at the northwest
corner of March and Klondike Roads (821 – 835 March Road). The site consists of 5.687 ha (14.05 acres)
of vacant land as outlined on Annex “A”.
The
Discussion section of the report outlines the details of the proposed land
exchange.
DISCUSSION
The
following chart outlines the pertinent information for each parcel:
|
|
Trillium
Woods (Minto) |
821
– 835 March Rd (City) |
|
Area |
7.527
ha (18.6 acres) |
5.687
ha (14.05 acres)* |
|
Proposed
development |
54
single family homes |
None
proposed at this time |
|
Zoning |
R1A
and OS |
R1A,
R1B and I |
|
Official
Plan |
Low
Density Residential and Open Space |
Low
Density Residential |
|
Price
per acre |
$
91,400/ac |
$121,000/ac |
|
Reconciled
Value |
$1.7M
|
$1.7M |
*Net
area after deducting land required for the March House Restaurant and right of
way requirements for March and Klondike Roads.
Natural
environment lands located in rural areas such as the South March Highlands have
been purchased between 2000 and 2003 with unit rates in the range of $2,000/ac
to $3,555/ac. Since Trillium Woods is
located within the urban area, the land value must reflect urban land values.
Two independent appraisals were obtained to estimate
the market value of both properties.
The reconciled values indicate a value of $1.7M for each parcel. The land values, as noted on the above
chart, are indicative of urban land values in this area. The Trillium Woods parcel is valued at a
lower average rate than the city-owned parcel due to development issues that
would have to be addressed for a proposed subdivision.
Minto, however, disputes the City’s appraisal report
and does not accept the value of their land as noted above. As a result, staff investigated other
mechanisms, which could be utilized to obtain an agreement. Subject to these discussions, and bearing in
mind that there remains a net deficit of 0.936 ha in land required to be dedicated
to the City as part of Minto’s 5% parkland requirement for Morgan’s Grant
Phases 11 and 12 (from a total Minto obligation for all of Morgan’s Grant of
9.1 ha) and also bearing in mind that Minto did over dedicate an additional
5.934 hectares of land in previous phases of the Morgan’s Grant development, it
is proposed that the remaining 0.936 ha of Minto’s obligation for 5% parkland
dedication for Phases 11 and 12 be waived.
The
details of the proposed land exchange are as follows:
- Land exchange is for $ 1.00.
- Minto will apply, as agent for the City
(the present landowner) for any necessary official plan amendment, zoning
amendment, draft plan of subdivision approval or site plan approval to
support residential development.
Fees will be waived for the processing of official plan, zoning
amendments and subdivision applications.
City will be responsible for assisting Minto in rezoning the
city-owned property and any OPA that may be required to support residential
development.
- City to retain a portion of the city-owned
lands to allow for the relocation of the March House restaurant. Minto to provide municipal services to
the new location for the March House restaurant.
- An easement is to be registered to protect
the waterline for 1135 Klondike Road prior to closing. Alternatively, Minto is to provide a
municipal water hook-up for this property.
CONSULTATION
In accordance
with policies approved by City Council on 14 November 2001, the availability of
the property was circulated to all client City Departments, including the
Housing Branch, and Comprehensive Asset Management Division to determine if it
should be retained by the City to be used in conjunction with any mandated
program. Internal stakeholders expressed
the following interest:
· Transportation &
Infrastructure Planning Division – requested that lands be retained for a
potential park-and-ride facility and carpool facility in support of the Kanata
North LRT line.
· People Services are
interested in this parcel for a future community complex.
· Housing Branch is interested
in filling the void for affordable housing (recommend that a minimum of one
acre be retained for affordable rental housing).
Upon consultation with the
internal stakeholders, the decision has been made to proceed with the recommendations
as outlined in this report.
External agencies were not circulated. The Ward Councillor was advised of the
proposal and is in support of the proposed land exchange.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The environmental significance of the Trillium Woods
land has been documented in a number of reports over the years.
The property
consists of a mix of forest communities including late successional deciduous
forest, white pine stands, deciduous swamp forest, and some rock outcrops. It
is part of a larger natural area - the Trillium Woods and South March Highlands
area, which is one of the most significant areas in the City for maintaining
biodiversity and ecological functions.
As a result, this area has had long-standing natural environment
designations in applicable planning documents.
The Trillium Woods in particular contain significant areas of mature
deciduous forest with a variety of rare and uncommon species. Assessments of
the property itself confirm that it is part of the larger natural area and has
a combination of documented special features (regionally and locally
significant flora, fauna and vegetation communities) and significant ecological
functions (contribution to interior woodland representation, exceptional
biodiversity, high level of ecological integrity and wildlife corridor values).
If the site is subject to urban development,
significant ecological values would be negatively affected, including its
contribution to interior woodland representation, the high level of ecological
integrity on the site and adjacent areas in Trillium Woods, its function as a
wildlife corridor, and its contribution to biodiversity in the larger area
through removal of regionally significant species. Urban development would also be a reversal of a long-standing
environmental designation and protection objective for the site.
There are no known environmental implications in
approving this land exchange and the City will complete an environmental site
assessment as part of its due diligence.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The net cost to the City for this acquisition is $
1.00 plus GST, which will be funded from the Environment Resources Area
Acquisition Capital Account 900138-506143.
The transaction revenue for the City owned parcel is
$ 1.00 and will be credited to Profit Centre 119909-407217.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Attached, as
Annex "A" is a sketch showing the land to be sold (821 – 835 March
Road) and Annex “B” outlines the land to be acquired (Trillium Woods).
DISPOSITION
Corporate Services Department - Real Estate Services Division to finalize the
Agreement of Purchase and Sale with Legal Services Branch
Development Services Department - Planning and Infrastructure Approvals Branch to assist in the rezoning and OPA process for 821 – 835 March Road
ANNEX A
ANNEX B
