The Town of Minto will pay $440,000 to acquire a swath of former rail land stretching from Clifford to Greenbush as part of the settlement for a legal action launched against the town in 2008.
At the Feb. 5 council meeting, Minto CAO Bill White explained the town signed an agreement in October with a numbered Ontario company to acquire the property. Following a period of due diligence, the transaction closed on Feb. 1.
In an e-mail to the Advertiser, White explained the lawsuit was filed by a numbered company, 1648267 Ontario Ltd., which owned the Clifford rail lands.
The statement of claim for $1.8 million filed by the company related to their efforts to develop and sell land, and approvals not being obtained from the town.
White explained the company believed the lands could be developed and sold and the town sought an agreement relating to, among other matters, the cost of servicing the lands prior to permitting development to occur.
“When approvals were not forthcoming and an agreement could not be reached the company initiated a lawsuit in 2008,” White stated.
“The current council was briefed on this matter in 2011 and reached a settlement with the company, with the town acquiring the former rail lands and settlement of the lawsuit.”
He added, “By acquiring the rail lands … the town acquires an asset that will be of benefit to all Minto residents in the future.”
The property acquired in the transaction includes all the former CN Rail lines within the village of Clifford, including Lots 294 to 327 on Ann Street, the rail line north of Ann Street to West Heritage, and the line south of Clifford almost to Greenbush.
White said the property contains 32 lots on the Ann Street portion. In his report, he noted some of the lots on Ann Street may be available for sale and redevelopment in the future.
“There is a record of site condition pertaining to the environmental condition registered in favour of some of the lands acquired by the town,” he added.
He also pointed out that council supports the idea of retaining the back portion of the Ann Street lots for a public trail, which would link into a trail system outlined in an “urban design drawing” prepared for the Clifford recreation ad hoc committee last spring.
“The former rail lands will also be available to assist with implementing active transportation initiatives in the county plan approved in principle by the town in 2012,” White stated.
