Last weekend, community members came together to express their concern regarding the land ownership at the location informally known as Centreville Beach or lot 38. This coming together allowed Meaford CAO Kymm Buckham the opportunity to speak with members of the community at the location, in addition to the meetings and emails that have taken place over the past few weeks with residents.
During this engagement, the CAO spoke with residents to better understand their concerns and discussed the following:
- Possibility of the Municipality purchasing and acquiring the land so that it could become public property
- Use of road allowances to access non-public property
- Insurance coverage on property and staff while performing work or services that are not owned by the Municipality
As an action following the community engagement on November 2, the CAO clarified the request of concerned residents via email, which can be found below.
On November 4 at the Council meeting, the CAO provided an update to Council and the public based on the current understanding of the Municipality. She spoke of her engagement with the community over the weekend as well as the commitment to seek legal advice on the way forward. The current understanding of the Municipality is that a claim on the land exists from 2020 by a private individual.
Buckham shared with Council the conclusion from Barriston Law in July 2020 regarding the matter: “Our review of title… of Lakeshore Road where ownership…. revealed no indication that the Municipality has ownership or responsibility for any of the property. There were not documents to indicate that there was ever any intention of the parcels being dedicated or assumed as a public road.…lands were originally transferred by the Crown to a private individual, and there are no registrations on title to suggest that the lands were ever transferred back to any public body or authority. The most recent instrument found on title to the lands all indicate that private individuals have title to the property, or were claiming title from a previous owner…”
Looking forward, staff are working to seek legal advice on the following:
- Options, timeline, and cost to use the road allowance as public space
- Options, timeline, cost, and probability of success for the Municipality to purchase the land
- Insurance coverage on property that is not owned by the Municipality
The recording of the Council meeting on November 4, 2024 can be found on YouTube by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkboJ7T5EeA
As the Municipality furthers its understanding regarding the use and ownership of lot 38, updates will be provided at https://www.meaford.ca/en/news/clarification-landcentrevilleroad.aspx.
