Now that the zoning has been addressed, the township is preparing to dispose of the property at 1066 Syer Line which was acquired in 2019.
Spanning 77.2 acres with 1698 feet of frontage on Syer Line, the property backs onto Hwy 115 from which it has high visibility. It was formerly a farm with a single family home, garage, barn and some outbuildings, serviced by a private well and septic. The majority of the property was zoned agricultural, with some portions designated Natural Core and Natural Linkage areas. Over the past few years, township staff have completed the required studies to allow for a zoning change which changes the agriculturally-designated portions to the Rural Employment classification which is now complete.
The objective of the zoning changes was to allow the property to attract employment. The township was considering how best to dispose of the property to ensure its new owner delivers some jobs. To that end, Executive Director of Planning and Development John Connolly presented a report which recommended the Request for Proposal (RFP) process as the preferred disposition process.
There are several steps required to actually sell the property. An independent appraisal will be secured to provide information to help guide the sale decision. The property will also be declared surplus, a public notice of the intention to dispose of it must occur, and the method of disposal should be established and implemented.
Legal advice has indicated that an RFP could be used to solicit offers to purchase from interested parties. This document would outline terms and conditions required for a successful offer. The successful proponent would be “awarded” the RFP, following which an agreement of purchase and sale for the property would be developed. Wording would be crafted to commit bidders to comply with specific terms and conditions, which could include types of uses or development concepts, timelines for developing the lands and the legal mechanisms the Township intends to use to secure these matters. The RFP would also be written to provide the Township with flexibility in reviewing bids/evaluation process, and reserve the right to not accept any bid, or cancel the RFP altogether.
In contrast, if the Township were to simply list the property for sale with a realtor, the sale would become an open negotiation. Potential purchasers would have no obligation to agree to the terms and conditions the Township is seeking, and would also be free to back out of negotiations during the process.
According to the staff report, the RFP process also protects the absolute discretion of Council to retain the land or to dispose of the land on such terms and conditions as they establish, which could include the power to sell the real property for nominal consideration (subject to the anti-bonusing provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001 as it may be amended from time to time), and to whomever it wishes, regardless of whether the disposition is to the party which apparently has presented the best offer.
Council opted to proceed with the RFP process and this document will be developed and made public in the coming weeks. KG
