Legislative History: Enacted September 19, 2017 (By-law No. CPOL. -187-439); Amended July 24, 2018 (By-law No. CPOL.-187(a)-445)
Last Review Date: July 25, 2023
Service Area Lead: Director, Realty Services
1. Policy Statement
The purpose of this policy is to formalize and clarify practices on the donation of lands and buildings to the City of London.
2. Definitions
Not applicable.
3. Applicability
This policy applies to all events of a significant donation of lands and/or buildings to the City of London.
4. The Policy
The following guidelines shall be applied in the event of a significant donation of lands and/or buildings to the City:
4.1 The Civic Administration is to submit an initial report to Council through the appropriate Standing Committee at the outset of contact and discussion with the potential property donor. This initial report will, among other things, indicate the nature of any further studies or investigations recommended and provide preliminary estimates of the cost of obtaining outside experts/consultants in assessing the building/property condition. This initial report will be on a confidential basis unless consent for disclosure is received from the potential property donor.
4.2 Based on this initial report, Council may authorize the Civic Administration either to proceed with further discussions and evaluation or to decline the donation.
4.3 Where the Civic Administration is authorized to proceed, the Civic Administration is to evaluate the proposal including:
a) developing a financial model which estimates capital costs and identifies secured revenues, forecasts future operating costs, explores potential use, and any recommended model for restoration/repair where appropriate;
b) preparing a condition study/building audit for any structures on the subject property, undertaken “in house” by qualified City staff or obtained from a qualified outside consultant;
c) where appropriate, undertaking a risk assessment analysis and estimated contingency allowance for any forecast expenditures, where the ability to conduct a comprehensive building audit is constrained (i.e. because of existing tenants or third party occupancy);
d) undertaking a review, if available, of previously obtained building audits, plans and studies completed by the property donor, including historical data on any renovations, alterations, expansions, etc., that have been undertaken;
e) in the case of proposed land donations, where appropriate, preparing “in house” by qualified City staff or obtaining from an outside qualified consultant a Phase I environmental audit and where appropriate a Phase II environmental study report (soil testing and geotechnical investigation); and
f) where the donated property contains buildings which are recommended for demolition, formulating, where possible, an estimate of the costs of removal of any structures from the property proposed for donation.
4.4 The Civic Administration is to report its evaluation to the Municipal Council with its recommendation for approval or otherwise.
4.5 Where the Municipal Council authorizes proceeding with accepting the donation, the Civic Administration is to obtain and review an independent market value appraisal of the donated property to be completed in accordance with the current regulations of Revenue Canada for the purposes of issuing an income tax receipt.
4.6 It is recognized that this policy may have limited application, if any, to a significant bequest of property to the City under the will of a deceased individual, because of the unique nature of a bequest. The City is not obligated in law to accept a bequest, and the City’s acceptance or not of a bequest will be determined on a case-by-case basis.