Yorkton Council has approved for the permanent closure of a portion of street right-of-way adjacent to 230 Broadway Street East, giving the closure first reading Monday.
City council had approved the closure of an unused portion of Broadway Street right-of-way, adjacent to 230 Broadway Street East and 2 Kelsey Bay earlier this year, explained Lonnie Kaal City Manager.
The intent of the bylaw was to:
*Create a saleable portion of land that could be combined with the property at 230 Broadway Street East;
*Establish a consistent right-of-way along Broadway Street East, between Highway 9 and Kelsey Bay; and
*Provide flexibility for potential redevelopment or expansion of the property at 2 Kelsey Bay.
“As with any permanent road closure, Administration consulted the Ministry of Highways about the potential requirement to provide payment for the lands – though most road right-of-way is acquired through dedication at no cost to the Ministry, some has been acquired as road widening at market value of the day. It was initially understood that no compensation would be required, and Administration put forward the road closing bylaw,” said Kaal.
“We have recently reached the last of many steps in the road closing process, being Ministerial approval to finalize title transfer away from the Crown. However, it was identified at this time that the portion of right-of-way adjacent to 2 Kelsey Bay was not acquired as dedicated lands, and instead was purchased as road widening. Ultimately, the Province will only consent to permanent closure of these lands upon receipt of market value compensation, which would be based on a current appraisal.
“Because the primary intent of the closure was to create land that could be sold to the owner of 230 Broadway Street East, and because we have no imminent purchaser to transfer costs of closing the lands adjacent to 2 Kelsey Bay, it is prudent to revise the proposed closure by removing the lands which are subject to market value compensation. The clearest and most efficient way to achieve this is to adopt a new road closing bylaw that repeals the previous one.”
In accordance with The Cities Act and the City’s Public Notice Bylaw No. 8/2003, permanent road closures are subject to public notice requirements. As such, the proposed Bylaw will be posted at City Hall and on the City webpage, and advertised in the local newspaper. A mailed notice will not be required as no other parties have been deemed affected.
