WETLANDS: City council has told staff to offer the developer as much as $800,000 for 2.5 hectares beside a wetland

Offer to Sifton in play

Jonathan Sher The London Free Press September 25, 2009

London city council has given staff the go-ahead to offer Sifton Properties up to $800,000 for land next to a wetland where the developer had planned to build two estate homes, The Free Press has learned. Politicians gave the green light to the offer during a contentious closed-door meeting this week, city hall sources say. Sifton had offered to sell the 2.5-hectare parcel for $800,000. A proposal by council member to counter with a $150,000 offer was rejected, and council instead directed staff to seek the best deal they could up to $800,000, sources say. The negotiations come as the two sides approach an October appearance before a member of the Ontario Municipal Board triggered when last year council. against the advice of the city solicitor, rejected Sifton's plan to build a 60-metre laneway and water and sewer pipes through the wetland. Asked about talks of a deal, London Mayor Ann Marie DeCicco-Best said yesterday she would not comment about a closed-door matter. "I can't discuss something that's a legal issue," she said. The mayor did confirm a special meeting of council has been called for Monday in which staff will update politicians on the disputed land. Sifton couldn't be reached for comment. Opponents of a deal at city hall say the latest proposal would set a costly precedent, suggesting there's no limit on how much council will spend for land that's deemed environmentally sensitive. Sifton's proposed development has been fought for a decade by neighbours in Stoneybrook Heights in north London. The latest dispute has been over a laneway that would be needed to connect future homes west of Debbie Lane and north of North Centre Rd. The laneway would go through the wetland. But Sifton says it's worked hard to minimize any toll on the wetland and the Ontario Municipal Board agreed. Stoneybrook residents have vowed to keep up the fight and spend as much as $50,000 to cover legal fees and other expenses. They say the wetland has been placed in harm's way by mistakes at city hall and a decision by Ontario's Housing Ministry to disregard protection recommended by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Those who oppose a deal say the region is still reeling from recession and the parcel to be bought isn't generally accessible to Londoners. That makes it quite unlike another deal with Sifton, from whom the city bought prime land for $700,000 overlooking the Thames River at a high-profile intersection of Wonderland Rd. and Riverside Dr. land that extended a public park.

Jonathan Sher is a Free Press city hall reporter.