'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
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.