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Mono gets closer to an updated bylaw for sale, disposition of surplus land

October 6, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Mono residents could have 30 days’ notice before an adjacent property is declared surplus land and for sale.

That is, if town council adopts the proposed updated version of its Sale and Disposition of Lands bylaw. The mandatory notice period was one of the features of the revised bylaw that was debated when council met on Sept. 27.

Some questions were raised during the meeting and municipal staff was asked to return with an updated proposed new bylaw.

They debated adding a definition of what constitutes a highway. The new bylaw will include a minimum of 30 days’ notice for a council meeting to consider a piece of land being declared surplus.

A big proposed change to the bylaw is a stipulation that makes it mandatory that adjacent landowners are informed directly.

The notice could be advertised in media, the town’s website, a letter to adjacent landowners, or a notice at the actually property to be surplus.

And a public meeting must be held before council deems land surplus. Currently, that public meeting is typically after council has already declared land surplus.

Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said the bylaw now allows a measure of flexibility that could be lost in a mandatory period of notice.

“We need that (flexibility),” he said. “I’ve been around long enough that I’ve seen some sales of town-owned land where the issue of 30 days’ notice just wasn’t important.”

He said he isn’t against the specific notice period. But he doesn’t want the updated bylaw to handcuff the town’s ability to be flexible in how it responds in certain situations.

Mayor John Creelman said there needs to be an inventory of publicly-owned lands that could become subject to the bylaw if somebody were to request a piece of land be declared surplus.

“I think it’s important we have a handle on as much as we can,” Creelman said.

The town maintains a map that shows municipal, provincial, and federal lands.

“I think the 30 days is going to actually be more helpful than not in 95 per cent of the cases that arise,” Creelman said.

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