Michael Lewis
Canadian and Design Construction writer
Ontario municipalities are reviewing fast-tracked provincial legislation that would remove their ability to impose mandatory green building standards and to incorporate climate and environmental goals in official plans.
A Toronto spokesperson said staff are assessing how provincial Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act tabled at the end of March by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, would impact greenhouse gas emissions targets as well as energy costs for property owners.
Toronto in 2010 introduced a first-tier mandatory green standard for new developments, with subsequent standards to be voluntary initially. The program is a key plank of Toronto’s plan to make new buildings more resilient to climate-fuelled extreme weather while cutting back on emissions.
The standard requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall and to have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It mandates improved park access and the application of window coatings for mid-to-high-rise buildings to mitigate against bird strikes.
It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles.
But builders have argued that Toronto exceeded its authority in imposing the requirements, a view echoed by Bill 98 which aims to prevent municipalities from setting obligatory standards beyond what’s already required in the provincial building code.
“Council has not yet received legal advice on this point,” said Toronto Ward 11, University Rosedale Coun. Dianne Saxe when asked if the city can continue to impose mandatory green standards considering that the latest bill has already been ordered to second reading in the provincial Legislature.
She said the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford is focused on “building cheaply now, regardless of the consequences.”
Saxe, who is also a member of Toronto’s infrastructure and environment committee, said the province is reluctant to improve the Ontario Building Code, and she has little faith in condominium developers’ willingness to adopt a green standard voluntarily.
“We know that few condo developers voluntarily build better buildings,” Saxe said in an email. “I am more optimistic about purpose-built rentals.
“When the builder has to pay long-term operating costs, they are much more likely to make the investments that reduce costs.”
At the Town of Halton Hills, meanwhile, staff are reviewing “the many legislative changes pouring out of Queens Park,” said Jane Fogal, a councillor and climate action advocate in the northeastern GTA community.
Halton Hills is among a small group of Ontario municipalities including Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton that have imposed a mandatory green building standard, although at least a dozen have some sort of voluntary standard.
“It is safe to say that municipalities can encourage building above the OBC,” Fogal said.
The province says Bill 98 is aimed at accelerating housing construction, standardizing planning rules across municipalities and improving infrastructure and transit coordination.
“By making municipal enhanced design standards voluntary and reviewing site plan broadly we are helping to get shovels in the ground by improving project viability and lowering costs for homebuyers,” said housing ministry spokesperson Michael Minzak.
But critics say the proposal would make Ontario less resistant to climate change, expand the use of natural gas and saddle home and building owners with future retrofit costs.
The new legislation would also hit a green construction industry that Toronto says contributes $4.64 billion in annual GDP and employs more than 84,000 skilled workers across the province in areas including sustainable landscaping and green infrastructure.
Toronto communications advisor Kalinka Madej said more than 4,000 projects have met the Toronto standard, helping to avoid one million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
She added that over 230 projects have taken part in a voluntary program that refunds portions of development charges on projects that apply a green standard above the mandatory level.
Kirstin Jensen, vice-president of policy, advocacy and relationships at the Ontario Home Builders Association, said higher performance standards “are not something the building industry doesn’t want.
“It’s just that if they are mandatorily imposed it can be cost prohibitive.” The OHBA represents more than 4,000 member companies in the home building and renovations sector.
Jensen said voluntary standards are appropriate when financially viable for builders, suggesting that municipalities need to offer developers more incentives to voluntarily go green.
Incentives “can be financial but they can also be related to the speed at which an approval makes it through the system because time equates to costs,” she said.
Jensen agreed that a business case for sustainable building exists but said the standards are not viable in the current economy where builders are struggling to obtain financing to get projects started.
“A fraction of our builders has a business model where they build to a higher standard to active long-term cost savings after up-front investments,” with an added cost for buyers, she told Ontario Construction News.
“But ultimately, they should be voluntary standards when financially viable. We’re not saying don’t build better, but there’s a better way to go about it.”
