Inquiry Report

Highlights from the Inquiry Report

Deficient Stakeholder Communications: “I find that The City failed to communicate transparently and as a party with great power ought to communicate with a key stakeholder about the likely acquisition of the River Run Lands. (p55).

Lack of Forthright Communication: “I further find that, on the whole, transparent and forthright communication from The City to the Owners was in short supply or clearly absent.” (p55)

High-Handed Approach to Costs: “While I do not find that there is a carte blanche obligation for The City to pre-approve expenses that owners anticipate they may incur, setting requirements for City employees to refuse to ever do so (or unless an owner expressly commits to transacting with the government) – which I find occurred on the evidence before me – is unduly inflexible and comes across as high-handed.” (p55)

Unequal Bargaining Power: “Moreover, as was made out on the evidence, the rigid refusals and high-handed (i.e, government preserving a position of clearly unequal bargaining power in a less-than-independently-voluntary negotiating relationship) aimed at and/or having the foreseeable effect of materially disadvantaging the landowning stakeholders whose interests are expected to be adversely effected.” (p55)

Failure to Meet Communication Obligations: “I further find a positive obligation on the part of the expropriating authority to engage in communications with key stakeholders such as the Owners in a manner that is objectively transparent and even-handed, and not aimed at gaining advantage or preventing an equal benefit to the landowner relative to the municipality. This obligation was not met by The City…” (p55)

Need for Process Improvements: “…and process improvements as well as a culture shift in how owners are viewed within The City’s real estate groups and related teams are in order, in my respectful opinion.” (p55)

Excessive Delays in Process: “The time taken for The City to initiate formal expropriation and take material steps to bring to a close the ‘limbo’ experienced by Owners at River Run has been excessive by any measure.” (p58)

Material Impacts of Limbo: “Moreover, I take very seriously – and urge City Council to take seriously – the material impacts on Owners of having public announcements about their land holdings, and facing that ‘limbo’ for years on end, all while the power-imbalanced relationship continues.” (p58)

Unfairness Due to Lack of Open Communication: “In my opinion, The City’s unwillingness, decision and/or failure to communicate openly, which is to say in a forthright and transparent manner, with the Owners, coupled with delays in finalizing the alignment and intended acquisition processes, and created material prejudice to the Owners and the state of ‘limbo’ in which several Owners found themselves.” (p58)

Lack of Good Faith in Process: “This is not in keeping with a good faith, transparent process that prioritizes mitigation of harm to affected owners as a means of giving intended effect to the expropriation legislation.” (p58)

Finding of Unfairness: “In the result, I find that the intended takings are not fair, considering a balancing of the interests of River Run Owners relative to members of the public apt to benefit from development of the Green Line through use of the subject lands.” (p58)