HUNTSVILLE - The sale of a portion of a historical shore road allowance to an eager property owner could net the Town of Huntsville nearly $15,000.
Council heard at its meeting earlier this month that a resident on Rose Lake Road is interested in purchasing a parcel of land that separates her property from the water’s edge.
The parcel in question is part of a shore road allowance put in place by the provincial government when Ontario was founded. The allowance provided a 66-foot ring measured from the high-water mark around bodies of water. However, most of the allowances were flooded as the province built dams, leaving the strips irregular sizes.
Municipalities across the province are now largely in favour of selling the allowances to abutting property owners should those people be interested in purchasing them.
A staff report to Huntsville council stated the resident in question wants to purchase the shore road allowance abutting her property so she can own all the land up to the shoreline. The existing cottage is located on the shore road allowance, so by selling the parcel the liability risk held by the town will be eliminated, stated the report.
Staff recommended approval of the request.
The sale price of a shore road allowance is $10 per square metre plus HST, plus additional fees. Staff estimates the sale of the road allowance at about $14,720, though a survey to identify the precise size of the parcel is pending.
Monies received from the closing and sale of the shore road allowance will be placed in the town’s parks reserve fund for future capital use, stated the report.
Council approved the recommendation to sell the shore road allowance to the property owner.
Kelly Pender, chief administrative officer for the town, has previously said that even if a shore road allowance is sold, policies such as the town’s zoning bylaw put in place some protective measures to protect shoreline despite it becoming private property.
Pender said the municipality gets about six to 10 requests a year to close a shore road allowance.
The funds from these sales go into the municipality’s parkland reserve.
“It goes back to parks projects,” said Pender. “For example, this year we did the Avery Beach dock and the Hunters Bay Trail (with parkland reserve funds). It goes back into, generally, parks-related stuff and we try to keep it as water-related as possible.”