1/ As we approach the PIC for Riverwalk in #Brampton, on October 1st, remember, the biggest barriers to redevelopment downtown aren't financial cost, or technical engineering, it is small lot size and lack of political will, there are multiple blocks with no floodplain issues.

2/ In Light blue is the floodplain courtesy of the TRCA, in yellow is the current growth centre boundary (Peel Region is looking to expand the MTSA), in darker blue are Heritage Designated properties, which aren't a significant barrier to redevelopment, if the City is willing.

3/ For example, the Dominion Skate Building has already been destroyed and is being redeveloped. The City could use expropriation to assemble viable parcels downtown for significant redevelopment, it simply chooses not to, because the title holders would be furious.

4/ Unlike the US where there is a constitutional right to property, Canada does not, it was deliberately not included in the Charter. Even in the US, cities have the right to expropriate property, and can even do that to transfer it to another private party (Kelo v. New London).

5/ In Ontario, Windsor has been able to expropriate land for unknown reasons to be used at an unknown time, by an unknown property. In comparison, the City of #Brampton would be doing it to intensify land in an area specified by the province, to achieve provincial goals.

6/ Note, the City could probably make decent money off of this, because it could assemble and rezone the land. In development, time is money, and risk can get expensive, expropriation is much easier than a private party trying to slowly assemble contiguous blocks, and less risky.

7/ When you consider how much time and money it takes to amend the zoning by-law, and potential risk of not being approved, the City assembling lots with no holdouts, and pre-zoning it would likely be decently profitable, and greatly accelerate redevelopment of downtown.

8/ What is the point of this thread? When the City decides that all the residents of #Brampton should cough up a hundred million or more for Riverwalk, remember that the City hasn't even been willing to do stuff that would be profitable to facilitate redevelopment of Downtown.