Council here has agreed to sell a road allowance to a couple to help correct an error made several years ago.
Ryan and Nicole Martin hold property at lots 86, 87, 112 and 113 on Concession 14, off County Road 7 in Rothsay. Several years ago they applied for and received a building permit for an accessory shed there.
The township later learned the building encroached well onto township property, something that would not be evident just looking at the undeveloped road. There are also some trees growing on the road allowance.
Recent efforts at council to correct the problem were stalled when council received a poor sketch of the property that was inadequate to show the location of the shed and the unopened road allowance owned by the township.
That road allowance is known as Nelson Street. It runs from County Road 7 to another unopened road allowance to the north called Head Street.
Nelson Street is to the east of the Martin holdings. It is 264 feet deep and 66 feet wide.
Township clerk Patty Sinnamon presented a report to council with assessment mapping and a recommendation to declare the land surplus and to sell it to the Martins.
She stated the sale price across Ontario for such transactions is usually the cost of the sale, including the required advertising of the property, legal fees and other disbursements, as well as survey costs.
“Based on previous unopened road allowance transfers (11 since amalgamation in 1999), the total cost has been less than $5,000 and is generally borne by those receiving the lands,” Sinnamon said.
If the township sells the lands, it can be taxed. As it is, Mapleton gets no revenue from it.
Sinnamon added, “It is still my recommendation that the cost be shared on a 50:50 basis between the property owner and the municipality. An undertaking has been signed by the Martins to share in the cost.”
Sinnamon told council, “The majority of unopened road allowances were created many decades ago [some as far back as the mid-1880s] as in this case. They would have been created by a developer at the time and for whatever reason, the development did not proceed.”
Normally when selling a road allowance, municipalities offer adjoining landowners the opportunity to each buy a portion. Sinnamon had told council that is normal practice, but sometimes the laws do not fit the circumstances.
In this case, the shed encroaches so far onto the road allowance that it covers over half the road width. If the township considers sideyard requirements, it makes no sense to sell to anyone other than the Martins. Sinnamon told council she had received a letter from the neighbouring property owner, who gave up any rights to the purchase.
Council agreed to Sinnamon’s recommendations and it is expected the land will be sold to the Martins.
