On September 12th council agenda there is a staff report recommending expansion of the green development standards to single detached residential developments in the established neighbourhood and hamlet areas designated in the Official Plan, Our King.  The recommendation is to post the proposed policy expansion on SpeaKING project page to obtain feedback from public and then to  come back to Council in December with changes. If approved in December it will be in force on January 1st, 2023 for new applications. I totally agree with expanding our current program but I am very disappointed at the modest metrics identified.

These standards are a list of sustainable design elements and features that exceed standard requirements such as the Ontario Building Code; the proposed standards are not consistent with having declared a Climate Emergency in 2019.   For example:  the Energy & Conservation section of the standards should include Air Source Heat Pumps or geothermal as opposed to fossil fuels creating a comfortable environment in the house. We are not able to mandate this infrastructure but we can promote it.  If you are not familiar with the former here are two ways to learn more from King local people who have the knowledge and personal experience. i) See article on page 7 of Mosaic; the author Mr. Beckley also comments on the health impact. ii) See a 2021 webinar hosted by Climate Action King.

As always, I am very interested to hear what my readers think about this report.  In addition to letting me know you can register to make a deputation to Council by registering at clerks@king.ca by noon on Sept. 12.  Also you can send in comments or questions to clerks@king.ca and your email will be circulated to Council and relevant Staff members.