On May 13 Council agenda there is a report recommending approval of the ThinKING Green: Sustainable Development Standards.  Its recommended that all site plan and draft plan of subdivision applications received after September 1 be subject to this program.  It has been a four year process to go from some modest sustainable targets for a single detached house to having a robust program applicable to new subdivisions. It is comprehensive in that it sets standards for green infrastructure, evaluates how energy is produced and consumed, evaluates the impact on the natural environment and more.  As reviewed in the report there has been extensive consultation to ensure that the targets support our goal to reduce King’s carbon footprint and that developments are built in a manner which mitigates the impact of climate change.

Without question it’s frustrating that the municipality lacks the authority to mandate that the highest targets are met.  As we don’t have that authority it’s particularly important that staff have created this program and propose that each applicant must assess their project against our standards; this review provides the opportunity for staff to encourage making different choices throughout the development process.  I am pleased that Staff are committing to assess how to incent higher standards and will report to Council later in the year.

If you have not been participating in the development of this program and you want to have more background, in addition to what is in the report, I recommend that you go to SPEAKING where you will see a full review.

As always I welcome your feedback and comments on my blog. If you wish to provide comments or questions to council you can either submit that to clerks@king.ca by noon on May 13 or you can register to make a deputation.