No one knows who owns this Toronto laneway, but neighbours say it's become a dangerous dumping ground
City insists it’s private property, even though owner has been dead for a century
Frustrated shop owners in Toronto's Yonge and Wellesley area say the city is refusing to pick up mounds of garbage that regularly accumulates in an adjacent laneway because it's private property — even though the laneway's last known owner died more than a century ago.
Sara Sadrolhefazi, owner of Nabulu Coffee on St. Joseph Street, says she's spent $5,000 in the year that she's owned the property, hiring contractors to clear garbage left in the laneway behind her shop.
"It hurts, both mentally and financially," Sadrolhefazi told CBC Toronto. "It's an extra burden and it just gives us a bit of stress, not knowing what happens the next day and what we'll have to deal with."
Sadrolhefazi and a half dozen of her neighbours signed a letter to their local councillor, Chris Moise, earlier this week asking the city to take on the cleanup. But Moise told CBC Toronto the city's hands are tied.
"It's private property," Moise said. "We are responsible for our own streets and laneways, of which there are many in the city."
Moise said he'll continue talking to local businesses in an effort to find a solution. For now, he suggested area businesses organize their own community clean-ups to keep the alley clear.
City says it's looking at cause of dumping
City staff told CBC Toronto they're looking into the cause of the constant dumping in the lane behind St. Joseph Street. But in Sadrolhefazi's letter to Moise, she says the neighbours know exactly where the garbage is coming from.
"Despite our best efforts, this area is repeatedly trashed by troubled individuals who treat the alley as their home," the letter reads. "The garbage is frequently vandalized, causing serious health and sanitary issues, which are further aggravated by animal activity."
Sadrolhefazi and neighbour Asha McLeod, who runs a salon at her 8 St. Joseph St. property, say they have nothing but sympathy for the homeless individuals who frequent the area, but they're frustrated by the lack of intervention from city staff.
Both McLeod and Sadrolhefazi said it's time the city solved the problem of the so-called orphaned laneway.
"It's disgusting," said long-time owner McLeod. "I've been picking up needles for two and a half decades."
In an emailed statement to CBC Toronto, city staff said: "The City of Toronto is aware of the litter/debris in the laneway near 6 St. Joseph Street. A complaint about this was received in September and the City has been working through the ownership rights of the laneway as it has been identified as private property."
City workers cleared the debris from the laneway on Nov. 20, two days after CBC Toronto visited the site, according to an updated version of that statement sent on Nov. 28.
Hundreds of 'orphaned laneways' across city
But Adam Wynne, chair of the Toronto and East York Community Preservation Panel, said he's already done the legwork and found there is no longer a legal owner, making the area behind St. Joseph Street an "orphaned laneway."
Wynne said Ontario Land Registry records show the lane last changed hands in 1882, when it was purchased by a William Jones for $9,000. Jones has been dead for at least a hundred years, Wynne said.
"It's absolutely ridiculous that the City of Toronto is asking the adjacent property owners to clear the garbage from a laneway owned by someone who's obviously been deceased for a hundred plus years," Wynne said. "There were 16 other Jones in Toronto in 1882, so identifying heirs would be quite a challenge."
City records show the last of the 16 died in 1904, Wynne said.
He recommended the city look into expropriating the property and accept responsibility for its upkeep. Wynne said it's just one of hundreds of orphaned laneways he's identified throughout the city.
Moise suggested a city-wide solution is probably not on the horizon.
"There are hundreds of orphaned laneways in the city," he said. "I don't think it's going to be resolved any time soon. We as a city cannot tell property owners what to do with their properties."