A property appraisal may be all that separates the city’s purchase, or expropriation, of two water lots along Barrie’s north shore.
“I’ve always maintained that I would sell it at fair market value,” said Darick Battaglia, a realtor and mortgage broker by profession, who has owned the water lots for about 25 years. “I don’t know how to attach a value to it, it’s so unique. There is a way to do it — a professional appraiser.
“That’s what I’ve always maintained, let’s get an appraisal. I don’t know what it’s worth. I’ll sell it to you (the city) for what the appraisal value is,” he said. “Expropriation is exactly the same thing.”
Council approved a motion Dec. 11, with no discussion, to have city legal staff begin negotiations to acquire part of water lots 26 and 27, in front of 185 Dunlop St. E., along Kempenfelt Bay, between Poyntz and Sampson streets.
Should negotiations to acquire the lots fail, however, legal staff are authorized to start expropriation proceedings for this property, to expand and enhance the public waterfront.
The province generally defines expropriation as taking or buying land without the consent of the owner by an expropriating authority, in this case the City of Barrie, in the exercise of its statutory powers.
“It is important for the city to own the waterfront, particularly as our city grows,” said Coun. Clare Riepma, who, along with Coun. Craig Nixon, represents this area.
Battaglia said the water lots have not been appraised and he hasn’t had any offers, not even from the city — although he said the lots have been on the market for years.
Staff say the property’s owner (Battaglia isn’t identified) has approached the city numerous times in the past to gauge interest in purchasing the water lots. To date, staff have not supported the purchase price the owner has proposed, and previous councils have likewise opted not to acquire the property on the terms offered by its owner.
The owner has historically proposed a number of uses for the property that staff don’t support, and that don’t align with the city’s policies with respect to the use of open space property located on Kempenfelt Bay’s waterfront.
“The only thing that got me a little upset was that they said I wasn’t negotiating properly or was giving them an unfair number and that’s the piece that I never understood,” Battaglia said.
Battaglia said he’s been to Barrie City Hall many times trying to figure out what he can do with the water lots, because he said the zoning permits a yacht club, a marina and restaurant accessory use. But how about building a boathouse or mooring his boat out front?
“I just think they just didn’t want me to do anything, so it wasn’t that these things aren’t allowed,” Battaglia said.
He would like any water lot deal with the city, sale or expropriation, to include a spot for his boat, the Island Princess, which now sits in the water lots. It’s 3,200 square feet, on two levels.
“That makes a pretty nice cottage for somebody on the water, which is what I had planned to do,” he said. “At the very minimum, that was going to become my cottage.”
Battaglia said there is a nice spot for the Island Princess in Barrie Marina.
“I’m hoping that becomes part of the negotiations. It’s a good tourist attraction,” he said. “It’s my wish to negotiate with the city to get the boat over there.”
As for the water lots, Battaglia said he expects to get a registered letter or call from the city soon, to start negotiations.
The Dec. 11 council motion also says a new capital project will be created for the acquisition or expropriation of this property, and potential future acquisitions of other waterfront properties, with a budget of $500,000, to be funded from the city’s tax capital reserve.
This will provide city staff with the ability to negotiate the acquisition of water lots along the shore of Kempenfelt Bay within the North Shore Trail system, beginning with the acquisition of this property.
It consists of a portion of two water lots located primarily within the waters along the north shore of Kempenfelt Bay. While a current, formal survey is not available, city staff suspect this property also consists of shoreline with an approximate depth of three feet.
Barrie’s Official Plan says the city will acquire private land to expand its public waterfront and the acquisition of this property, be it by expropriation or a negotiated agreement, is consistent with this provision.
The city’s 2023 waterfront strategic plan update includes additional recommendations with respect to improvements to the North Shore Trail and Sam Cancilla Park areas. These recommendations include exploring water access points at Sam Cancilla Park, which could be addressed if the water lots were owned by the city, given their proximity to the park.
The 2023 update says Sam Cancilla Park is a major destination on the city’s waterfront, one that acts as a gateway to the North Shore Trail system.
City ownership of water lots and potentially other waterfront property in this area would help to extend the area of the waterfront and achieve park elements that better reflect the needs of the community, according to staff.
