It will likely be late next year or early 2007 before properties on the city's waterfront are up for sale, says Mayor Ernie Bourassa.

During Monday's council meeting, there was discussion on the proposed subdivision for the former Motorways trucking yard. Bourassa said there is a lot of work to be done on the downtown waterfront parcel before any lots are placed on the market.

'That's correct,' planning manager Lesley Cabott, who presented the report on the subdivision to council, confirmed. 'There needs to be some work done, of course, on the infrastructure.'

The city will need to clean up the site and remove the contaminants, do design, construction and build the road through the area.

'And possibly, late 2006, there would be lots available,' Cabott said.

The project is part of the city's overall waterfront development downtown, which includes Shipyards Park and other work along the Yukon River.

The subdivision would divide the 5.7 hectares of land that make up the former trucking yard into 17 lots.

The administrative report to council reads:'The proposed subdivision concept encompasses approximately 5.7 hectares; this includes 1.7 hectares for the Kwanlin Dun land (proposed lot 116), 0.7 hectares for parks (includes trolley corridor) and walkways, 0.9 hectares for utilities (proposed lot 117) and roads, and 2.4 hectares for mixed commercial/residential uses (proposed lots 101 to 115 and lot 118).'

The city bought the property from the British Yukon Railway in 1994 for $3.5 million.

In 2003, the city signed a land sale agreement with the Yukon government for the 1.7-hectare portion of the site to be included in the Kwanlin Dun First Nation's (KDFN's) land claim settlement.

With the recent ratification of that land claim agreement, the city's plans for the site must respect the 1.7-hectare KDFN portion.

After Cabott delivered the administrative report to council, she gave a computer presentation demonstrating the city's plans for the site.

The area is designed for pedestrian use based on the First Avenue alignment from Black to Ogilvie Street with the territory's Whitehorse trolley running through the site. The lots next to First Avenue would be a similar size to the standard 650-square-metre downtown lot, with larger lots closer to Second Avenue.

The proposed subdivision comes after the city recently received word that the proposal submitted by it, the Yukon government and the KDFN for the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Funding Program had been approved.

That will see the federal and territorial governments each put in $9.5 million, the city put up $1 million and the KDFN put in another $895,000 for waterfront development in Whitehorse.

The administrative report notes the proposed ex-Motorways land subdivision was contingent on the federal funding due to the higher costs of road construction.

'Subdivision of the Motorways property is required to continue the implementation of the downtown riverfront design concept and to rejuvenate the downtown riverfront area,' reads the report.

It also notes new zoning required for the proposed lot layout will be brought forward as part of the city's changes to the zoning bylaw.

The proposed subdivision also meets the city's requirements for its Public Use Land Dedication, which requires all subdivisions to set aside 10-per-cent of the land, or cash-in-lieu, for public use.

'A Public Use Land Dedication of 15 per cent of the overall subdivision area was made as part of the previous Motorways subdivision,' the report explains.

'As the area is being redesigned, this dedication is now being incorporated into the proposed subdivision. The area associated with the public spaces (parks, trolley and walkways) equals 12 per cent of the overall subdivision and therefore meets the requirements of the PULD policy.'

Council will vote on the subdivision next Monday.