9/23/2013 7:15:57 PM

The City of Toronto has updated the Toronto Green Standard to include higher energy conservation targets for new buildings. The updates, which Council approved at its July meeting, will apply to new development starting January 2014.

The Toronto Green Standard first came into effect in 2010. Toronto is one of the only cities in North America with required green standards applying to new construction.

"Toronto is currently experiencing a huge condominium boom, with about 173 cranes in the air," said Councillor Peter Milczyn (Ward 5 Etobicoke-Lakeshore), Chair of the Planning and Growth Management Committee. "Raising the standard for the environmental performance of new development in Toronto is essential to our future sustainability and resiliency."

The updated Toronto Green Standard ensures that new buildings and the surrounding site contribute to a greener city with green or cool roofs, cycling infrastructure, tree-canopy cover, water and energy conservation, and bird-friendly glazing on buildings.

The Toronto Green Standard is a two-tier set of performance measures related to sustainable site and building design for new private and public development. New planning applications have had to comply with Tier 1 environmental performance measures since 2010.

Applicants that meet both Tier 1 and 2 of the Toronto Green Standard - Tier 2 is a voluntary, higher level of environmental performance than Tier 1 - are eligible for a refund of 20 per cent of the City's development charge. The development charges refund incentive applies to projects that are required to pay development charges and that meet Tier 2 of the Toronto Green Standard while complying with the City's application and verification procedures. More information about eligibility for the refund is available at http://www.toronto.ca/planning/environment/developerinfo.htm.

The Toronto Green Standard was updated in consultation with the development industry and its stakeholders. A working group composed of representatives from City Planning, Toronto Building, the Environment and Energy Office, Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Toronto Hydro, Enbridge, the development industry and other relevant stakeholders will be established to assist the industry in meeting the new energy efficiency standards.

"The Building Industry and Land Development Association is committed to promoting sustainable communities and environmentally responsible development," said Mara Samardzic, Planner, Policy and Government Relations with the association."The Toronto Green Standard is one mechanism our members use to consider design elements centred on sustainability for their projects and we look forward to our continued participation as a stakeholder in the development of these city-wide goals."

The Toronto Green Standard report that City Council adopted is available at http://bitly.com/155Nob1.
Anyone interested can sign up for the City Planning division's email updates to stay informed about planning issues and coming events at http://www.toronto.ca/e-updates. City Planning's official Twitter feed is @CityPlanTO.