2017 flooding has cost city $8.45 million
City staff recommend 2017 rent and fees be forgiven for island businesses as a result of lengthy closures.

TheStar.com
Jan. 17, 2018
Jennifer Pagliaro

City staff say the flooding in 2017 that shut down Toronto Island Park for three months and devastated waterfront areas has cost the city’s parks, forestry and recreation division at least $8.45 million.

In a new report to the executive committee, staff recommend up to 100 per cent of the base licence fee or rent for tenants on the island be forgiven.

“While impacts have been seen across the whole of the City of Toronto’s waterfront, the flood disproportionally affected Toronto Island Park, resulting in the closure of the park until the end of July,” the staff report reads. “Water levels still remain above historic averages, the impact of which through the winter season is still unknown.”

An additional $7.38 million will also be required for short-term repairs and other mitigation, staff say, of which only $2 million is available in the 2018 budget. Long-term damage, compounded by freezing, is not yet known and will be considered in the 2019 budget, the report says.

Lake Ontario reached the highest-ever recorded level in May of last year at 75.93 metres above sea level, closing the island during a typically busy season, causing 70 landslides along the Scarborough Bluffs and creating other lasting damage.

The revenue losses from the ferry alone cost $6.34 million in 2017.

A dozen island businesses, including the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and Toronto Island Bicycle Rental, experienced varying degrees of loss, city staff say. They have not yet been charged for 2017 fees.

Any tenants or licensees who can demonstrate through financial statements that they have incurred a reduction in net income due to the closure of the Toronto Island Park and are current with their rent, fees and other financial obligations up to 2017 should qualify for up to 100 per cent abatement of 2017 fees, the staff report says.

That decision will ultimately be up to council, which meets starting Jan. 31.

In the future, staff say they are working with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the newly hired chief resilience officer to assess long-term repairs and mitigation in the event of forthcoming severe weather. That work includes a Toronto Island Park flood plan, expected later this year.