3. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO DECLARE REAL PROPERTY SURPLUS

DÉLÉGATION DU POUVOIR DE DÉCLARER DES BIENS IMMOBILIERS EXCÉDENTAIRES

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

That Council:

1. Delegate the authority to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee to declare real property to be surplus to the City’s requirements and that the dispositions from Committee form a bulk information item on the Council agenda;

2. Delegate the authority to the Director of Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office to declare non-viable real property to be surplus to City requirements, subject to the concurrence of the ward Councillor and in accordance with the process set forth in this Report, and that the exercise of this delegated authority shall be reported to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on a semi-annual basis; and

3. Subject to approval of Recommendations 1 and 2 above, amend By-law No. 2002-38 governing the sale of real property owned by the City and By-law No. 2009-231 respecting the delegation of authority to various officers of the City regarding real estate transactions to reflect these changes in delegated authority.

RecommandationS du Comité

Que le Conseil:

1. délégue au Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique le pouvoir de déclarer certains biens immobiliers excédentaires aux besoins de la Ville et que les décisions du Comité en matière d’aliénation de biens figurent comme éléments d’information à l’ordre du jour du Conseil;

2. délégue au directeur du Bureau des partenariats et du développement en immobilier le pouvoir de déclarer les biens immobiliers non viables excédentaires aux besoins de la Ville, sous réserve de l’approbation du conseiller de quartier et conformément au processus indiqué dans ce rapport, et qu’il soit fait rapport de l’exercice de ce pouvoir au Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique à chaque semestre; et

3. sous réserve de l’approbation des recommandations 1 et 2, modifie le règlement n^o 2002-38 régissant la vente des biens immobiliers dont la Ville est propriétaire et le règlement n^o 2009-231 qui concerne la délégation du pouvoir d’effectuer des transactions immobilières à plusieurs agents de la Ville, et ce, de façon à refléter les changements en matière de pouvoirs délégués.

DOCUMENTATION

1. City Manager’s report dated 29 September 2009 (ACS2009-CMR-REP-0045)

Report to/Rapport au :

Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee

Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique

and Council / et au Conseil

29 September 2009 / le 29 septembre 2009

Submitted by/Soumis par : Kent Kirkpatrick, City Manager/Directeur des services municipaux

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Gordon MacNair, Director

Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office/Directeur, Partenariats et Développement en immobilier

(613) 580-2424 x 21217, Gordon.MacNair@ottawa.ca

City Wide/à l'échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2009-CMR-REP-0045

SUBJECT:	DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO DECLARE REAL PROPERTY SURPLUS
OBJET :	DÉLÉGATION DU POUVOIR DE DÉCLARER DES BIENS IMMOBILIERS EXCÉDENTAIRES

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend Council:

1. Delegate the authority to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee to declare real property to be surplus to the City’s requirements and that the dispositions from Committee form a bulk information item on the Council agenda;

2. Delegate the authority to the Director of Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office to declare non-viable real property to be surplus to City requirements, subject to the concurrence of the ward Councillor and in accordance with the process set forth in this Report, and that the exercise of this delegated authority shall be reported to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on a semi-annual basis; and

3. Subject to approval of Recommendations 1 and 2 above, amend By-law No. 2002-38 governing the sale of real property owned by the City and By-law No. 2009-231 respecting the delegation of authority to various officers of the City regarding real estate transactions to reflect these changes in delegated authority.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil :

1. de déléguer au Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique le pouvoir de déclarer certains biens immobiliers excédentaires aux besoins de la Ville et que les décisions du Comité en matière d’aliénation de biens figurent comme éléments d’information à l’ordre du jour du Conseil;

2. de déléguer au directeur du Bureau des partenariats et du développement en immobilier le pouvoir de déclarer les biens immobiliers non viables excédentaires aux besoins de la Ville, sous réserve de l’approbation du conseiller de quartier et conformément au processus indiqué dans ce rapport, et qu’il soit fait rapport de l’exercice de ce pouvoir au Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique à chaque semestre; et

3. sous réserve de l’approbation des recommandations 1 et 2, de modifier le règlement n^o 2002-38 régissant la vente des biens immobiliers dont la Ville est propriétaire et le règlement n^o 2009-231 qui concerne la délégation du pouvoir d’effectuer des transactions immobilières à plusieurs agents de la Ville, et ce, de façon à refléter les changements en matière de pouvoirs délégués.

BACKGROUND

The recommended amendments with respect to the delegation of authority to declare real property surplus to the City’s requirements are in response to the Mid-Term Governance Review report (ACS2009-CMR-CCB-0043) carried by City Council on 24 June 2009, as amended, relating to the Council and Committee structure and procedures, and specifically the principles and process for delegation to Standing Committees, Ward Councillors and staff.

It should also be noted that the former Section 268 of the Municipal Act that established the requirement for real property to be declared surplus by City Council at an open meeting of Council was repealed by Bill 130. The Municipal Act now requires that a municipality shall adopt and maintain policies with respect to its sale and other disposition of land.

The purpose of this report is to streamline the process for declaring real property surplus in response to the Mid-Term Governance Report recommendations. It is the intent of Realty Services to bring By-law No. 2002-38 (the “Real Property Disposal By-law”), which included the policy and procedures for the disposal of real property forward in 2010 for further amendments to address the references to the Municipal Act that have been amended by Bill 130 and other administrative items.

DISCUSSION

Governance Objective 1 of the 2007-2010 City Strategic Plan addresses increased delegation of authority to Standing Committees, Ward Councillors and staff to improve Council’s ability to provide strategic direction and reduce transactional approvals. The recommendations of this report maintain the principles of the Real Property Disposal By-law, including public notification requirements and an open and transparent disposal process, and provide a more efficient transaction approval process. The Real Property Disposal By-law provides that a comprehensive circulation process is undertaken to ensure that property is not required for any current or future program requirement before it is considered for surplus status.

Recommendation 1 of this report will provide CSEDC with the authority to declare real property surplus to the City’s requirements. Delegation to standing committee for real estate matters, including the disposal and sale of property, was identified in the Mid-Term Governance Report as a potential change that would occur if the principles of delegation were approved.

CSEDC will continue to provide a forum for the resolution of any objections or disputes regarding the disposal of City property. In accordance with the Delegated Authority By-law No. 2009-231 with respect to real estate transactions, real property disposal transactions with a value over $500,000 will continue to require approval of City Council.

Recommendation 2 of this report addresses a more streamlined process for the disposal of non-viable property. Non-viable property, as defined in the Real Property Disposal By-law means real property for which a building permit cannot be granted because either it is landlocked, or because it is of insufficient size and inefficient shape to permit development unless developed in conjunction with abutting land. These properties, such as closed road allowances and remnant properties, are therefore only of utility to the abutting property owners. The disposal of non-viable properties is considered to be a transactional item that relates specifically to an identifiable ward and therefore the adoption of the process outlined below could be applied to these transactions:

PROCESS FOR THE EXERCISE OF DELEGATED AUTHORITY FOR NON-VIABLE PROPERTIES:

• The authority to declare non-viable property surplus to the City’s requirements would be delegated to the Director of Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office who will observe all established processes and procedures as set out in the City’s Policy for the Disposal of Real Property, including notice of the proposed disposal to all abutting owners, the requirement to obtain an appraisal and to dispose of the property at market value;
• Staff will prepare a Delegated Authority Report, including a summary of all comments from the public and stakeholders and responses thereto;
• The Delegated Authority Report will be sent electronically to the ward Councillor for concurrence;
• If the ward Councillor concurs:
• The Delegated Authority Report is signed by the Director of Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office;
• Notice of the approved recommendations is sent to the ward Councillor and those who submitted comments on the disposal or who requested notification of the decision;
• If the ward Councillor does not concur:
• Delegated authority is withdrawn and the recommendations are sent to the CSEDC for a public meeting and decision;
• If the ward Councillor does not provide concurrence and does not lift delegated authority within fifteen (15) working days from receipt of the Delegated Authority Report, the report will move forward to the CSEDC.

It should be noted that the above delegated authority process would not apply to non-viable properties where a former owner has a right to repurchase in accordance with the provisions of the Expropriations Act.

Summary

The Mid-Term Governance Report recommended that Standing Committees, Ward Councillors and staff be given expanded delegation of authority over transactional items and that the expanded authority should provide greater autonomy for the Ward Councillor in ward matters, greater authority to Standing Committees to be the final decision makers on items within their mandate, and reduce the number of transactional items at City Council. The recommendations in this report for delegation of authority to declare property surplus to the City’s requirements clearly targets the direction outlined in the Mid-Term Governance Report while maintaining the principles of the Real Property Disposal By-law established to ensure a consistent, fair and transparent process for the disposal of real property.

CONSULTATION

This is an administration matter only and no public consultation is considered necessary.

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:

There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing any of the Recommendations arising from this Report.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications associated with this report. As per the current practice the proceeds of sales for both viable and non-viable property will be credited to the Surplus Land Account.

DISPOSITION

Following Council’s approval, the Real Estate Partnership and Development Office will implement the new process and the Legal staff will prepare the amending by-laws for enactment.