Expropriation in North Frontenac – Land Tribunal 'report and opinion' is not binding

Jeff Green | Jun 19, 2024

It appears that Frontenac County will be able to complete the expropriations it requires for the completion of the K&P trail through Snow Road without any further cost, or undue delays.

But trail construction will take longer as funding not been secured as of yet.

On April 12, an Ontario Land Tribunal Report and Opinion by Jennifer Campbell said that the expropriation order of Frontenac County for a portion of the Geddes property in North Frontenac was flawed, because the width of some of the lands being expropriated is wider than is necessary for the K&P trail to go through.

However, a staff report that is coming to Frontenac County Council this week points out that while the Ontario Land Tribunal's “opinion” is that a narrower piece of land would be sufficient meet the criteria of the expropriation, the Expropriation Act does not “does not bind Council to this opinion, and [Council] may approve the expropriation as planned.”

All the Act does is require that the county consider the OLT opinion and “decide whether to approve the expropriation within 90 days.”

County staff are recommending that council proceed with a “permanent easement” on the entire piece of land, rather than a forced purchase. This will allow the property owner to continue to use the sections that are not being impacted by trail construction, while giving the county the right to take over those parcels if they are needed.

This solution will also negate the necessity to complete a new survey of the land, which would be costly and would have pushed process beyond the 90 day approval window.

As to the other two expropriations in North Frontenac, the landowners in both of those cases have also requested “hearings of necessity” from the OLT. However, one of the landowners decided not to go ahead with the hearing, and staff are recommending that expropriation in that case also be finalized by council this week.

A hearing of necessity in the third expropriation, the Gilchrist property, is scheduled for July 20.

That Gilchrist property surrounds over a kilometre of trail, and one member of the Gilchrist family, David, told the News that the family intends to vigorously oppose the expropriation as the trail construction and use is not consistent with the way they have used their property since they purchased it in the 1980's

The trail has run through their property in the winter as a snowmobile trail in the past, but the Gilchrist's have blocked their property off from snowmobiles for three years, because of snowmobiles going off trail onto their property.

David Gilchrist was also critical of the way the county land purchase process has unfolded, pointing out that the county paid for expensive surveys on the Gilchrist and Geddes properties last fall “without knowing the outcome of the expropriations.”

Frontenac County has been in negotiation with landowners along the K&P Trail route for several years. A land purchase process in Central Frontenac, for the trail sections in the 8 kilometre stretch between Tichborne and Sharbot Lake, resulted in a number of negotiated deals, and a few expropriations. The trail has now been completed through that section.

The section from Sharbot Lake to the border with North Frontenac Township was purchased and developed as a trail in the 1980's by the former township of Oso. All that was necessary for that section was to transfer ownership to Frontenac County. That section has now been upgraded to K&P Trail standards, with except for the last kilometre before the North Frontenac border

Then comes North Frontenac, where there are more sections of the old rail bed that are owned by local landowners.

Negotiations have been difficult with North Frontenac land owners, leading to the three expropriations .

With two of those appearing to be coming to a resolution this week, and the county's apoparent ability to override OLT decisions if the hearing over the third does not go their way, the county can anticipate securing full ownership of the next section of trail by the end of the year.

As for the time frame to fully develop the trail and finally complete the K&P trail from the border with Kingston and he border with Lanark County, that depends on financing. The section from Clarendon to the Mississippi River is slated for completion this year, but only if the County is successful in a Rural Economic Development grant application that was submitted early this spring.

There is currently no money set aside for the final sections of trail.

And there is one further complication.

The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) owns the last piece of trail land before the Lanark County border. While the RVCA are more than willing to sell it to Frontenac County for a nominal fee, there is a dispute over the parcel involving two neighbouring landowners and the RVCA, a matter that has been in legal limbo for years and is before the courts now.

Pending the outcome of that court case, and finances, the K&P Trail could be fully completed and connected to other trail systems within two to three years.

The process was initiated in 2009.