Wellesley declares laneway surplus, agrees to sell it

DECLARING A FORMER LANEWAY ON Nafziger Road in Wellesley village surplus to its needs, the township this week cleared the way for four neighbouring property owners to expand the size of their lots.

The township has not used the laneway for decades, and the abutting property owners have been maintaining it. It loops around several properties and once had two access points onto Nafziger Road, near Maple Leaf Street. A portion of the southerly part of the laneway was previously closed and sold in 1983.

Meeting Tuesday night, councillors chose to forego a public meeting on the advice of staff and approved the sale of a laneway on Nafziger Road to the adjacent landowners, who had approached the township about selling the land.

Because the residents were the ones who came to council with the request, staff do not believe a public meeting is necessary as the property owners are the only ones who are impacted by or benefit from the sale.

“In this case, it’s a very narrow strip of land that goes around those properties and the abutting property owners are really the only ones that would be able to take advantage of any use of those lands. Based on just the size of the land that they’re getting, it’s such a small amount, at the end of the day the township doesn’t really end up with a lot of money from the sale of the land,” said director of planning Geoff VanderBaaren.

The laneway is 13.8 feet wide and provides 5,484 square feet to the four property owners.

The township sold similar land back in 2019 at a cost of $0.57 per square foot. Based on the rising cost of land, staff have recommended a sale price of $0.60 per square foot. That’s expected to generate $3,290.50 in revenue for the township.

Landowners will also be expected to cover the cost of legal and survey costs, estimated at $4,000 to $4,500 each.

The breakdown for sale to each property owner includes 3709 Nafziger Rd., purchasing 1,543 square feet ($925.80), 3705 Nafziger Rd., purchasing 1,964 square feet ($1,178.40), 1026 Molesworth St., purchasing 636 square feet ($381.60), and 3701 Nafziger Rd., purchasing 1,341 square feet ($804.60).

The laneway in question was originally laid out in subdivision plans in the 1800s, but was deemed to be of no further use to the township.