'Surgical' expropriation pondered by council to unlock vacant downtown land
Economic recovery from the pandemic will take years in Downtown London and the Old East Village.
On Tuesday, councillors took their first step towards developing a plan to revitalize London’s core business districts and tackle a blight of vacant buildings.
“The ‘Live-Work-Learn-Play’ (report) used 2014 numbers and told us 55,000 people came into our downtown every day. The number in the new Strategic Plan for the BIA used 2020 numbers. That was down to 33,000.” said Councillor John Fyfe-Millar who represents the downtown. “What we don’t have is what do our actual post-COVID numbers look like?”
According to a staff report, vacant office space rose to 20 percent last year.
Several councillors expressed a desire to target land speculators who block redevelopment by tying-up key properties indefinitely.
“The land-locking downtown is significant in terms of stalling any progress that we might have in revitalizing the core,” explained Councillor Stephen Turner to his council colleagues.
“One option that might be worth considering is expropriation in certain circumstances where it might be a little more surgical,” suggested Councillor Turner.
Councillor Shawn Lewis reminded politicians that exercising their power to expropriate land from unwilling property owners has limits.
“There has to be a very good municipal justification for expropriation,” said Lewis. “I’m not sure vacancy downtown would give us grounds to do that.”
Ground floor commercial vacancy in core business districts may be the most noticeable symptom, however, Councillor Maureen Cassidy reminded council members that the upper floors are usually residential.
“If we do think (about) strategic acquisition or even expropriation, there is a municipal justification there when we look at the crisis we have with housing in the city,” she said.
She proposed a process similar to city hall’s Industrial Land Strategy that acquires key properties for eventual sale to companies ready to build.
Council also discussed the possibility of a vacancy tax in the core to disincentivize land speculation.
At this time the province only permits a vacancy tax on residential properties, but city staff said they will look deeper at the options in their upcoming examination of core area vacancies.
“If we had the magic solution to revitalize the downtown we would have done it by now,” added Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan. “It’s a complex problem that requires a number of approaches and requires a number of strategic partners.”
Council, sitting as the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee, unanimously recommended civic administration start work on a core area vacancy strategy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.