MOOSE JAW — The department of community services plans to undertake several land management initiatives this year to help sell various city-owned lots, including over 30 properties acquired due to outstanding taxes.
During the Jan. 13 regular city council meeting, city administration provided an update about the number of tax title properties it has acquired over the years and reasons why it does not advertise all of those lots.
The city currently holds 33 tax title properties but advertises only eight of them, a council report said. Some reasons why the city does not advertise all of them include:
- No street access
- The property is in a floodway
- The land can only be sold to adjacent landowner(s)
- There is a lack of egress/exit
- The lot is too small to be developed independently and must be consolidated with an adjacent property
- The land has been consolidated into a larger parcel
- The property is landlocked
- The property is involved in litigation
- There is no ability — or there is an excessively high cost — to service the property
- The city is waiting for potential grants, usually for remediation purposes
Meanwhile, the eight tax title properties are 319 High Street West, 1174 Third Avenue Northeast, 919 Ross Street East, 1223 Coteau Street West, 1106 Iroquois Street West, 749 Stadacona Street East and 925 Athabasca Street East.
under the categories of residential, commercial and industrial.
There are 58 residential lots listed for sale on the website — most are in the Westheath subdivision — with 35 on Wellington Drive, three on Brigham Road, three on Fairmont Road, 14 on Fullerton Drive, one on Coteau Street West, one near the agri-food industrial park (AFIP) and one on Stadacona Street East.
There are 10 industrial lots listed for sale on the website, with one on Stadacona Street West and nine in the AFIP.
There are 38 commercial properties for sale on the city website, with one on High Street West, seven on Diefenbaker Drive and 30 in the Grayson Business Park.
The report noted that community services plans to pursue two land management initiatives this year to help sell these slow-moving properties:
- Land development strategies: It will develop a comprehensive policy to sell city-owned land — serviced, unserviced, vacant or non-conforming — to improve customer service
- Vacant land: It will identify and prioritize city-owned vacant lands for clean-up, appraisal and potential sale or lease, and address encroachments and promote available lots with updated appraisals
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Jan. 27.
