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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 5, 2009 Citq Minutes I Meeting Summary Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee March 5, 2009 I ERI 10:00 am Main Committee Room Attendees: Doug Dickerson, City Councillor, Ward 2 (Chair) Jennifer O'Connell, City Councillor, Ward 1 (Vice-Chair) David Pickles, City Councillor, Ward 3 Tom Melymuk, Director, Office of Sustainability Neil Carroll, Director, Planning & Development Catherine Rose, Manager, Policy Lynn Winterstein, Manager, Marketing & Business Development Chantal Whitaker, Coordinator, Sustainability Jack McGinnis - Durham Sustain Ability Marla Shim, Executive Assistant, Council (Recording Secretary) Item / Details & Discussion & Conclusion Action Items /Status Ref # (summary of discussion) (include deadline as appropriate) 1. Welcome and Introductions The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed everyone 2. Sustainable Development Guidelines Neil noted that the Sustainable Development Guidelines booklet had previously been distributed to Members of Council. It is also available to the public on CD by request, or through our website. The guidelines took some time to develop, but still needs to be modified to a simpler format for the general public to comprehend. Catherine showed an updated Power Point presentation and explained the guidelines in detail. General discussion ensued and the following points were discussed: • Committee members and staff discussed the need for an updated edition of the Guidelines; possible matters to reflect in the next edition include the 2009 Building Code changes; pre-consultation becoming mandatory; new examples of technology available under 'explanations', etc. • Committee members commented that the guidelines should be more user-friendly, perhaps more of a check list; this Page 1 CORP0228-2/02 could be examined in the next edition as well • Staff clarified that the required elements must be met prior to even being eligible to achieve a Level I, 2 or 3 rating; Committee members commented on the importance of the requirements, as well as the optional elements that enable development proposals to achieve points, being very clearly expressed • It was noted that an important role for the SPAC is to have input to establish the desired level of sustainability to be achieved for development in the City; consideration should be given to whether the same level would apply City-wide • Discussion ensued by the Committee about simplifying the scoring system; discussion also occurred about the merits of using a recognized rating system / brand (e.g. LEED; Green Globes; LEED-ND; LEED for Homes) as opposed to our Pickering-specific guidelines; further, some members suggested using an arms-length reviewer to keep evaluations neutral It was noted that there are some flaws with the LEED rating system; people can cherry-pick 'easy' points; for example, some small items (like installing a bike rack) get the same point value as major items (remediation of a site; reuse of a heritage building); there is also a cost to register, and the requirements to demonstrate compliance are quite onerous In discussing LEED, it was noted that the City's Guidelines were patterned after the draft LEED-ND system from the US, and the final rating system was released about the same time as the City's Guidelines (mid 2007); a number of pilot projects are now testing the final LEED-ND system; staff commented that the City's guidelines are more sophisticated than most, and that they reflect the Southern Ontario/ GTA planning context • It was noted that "sustainable place- making" is the context for sustainable development; thus, it is inappropriate to select one criteria related to sustainability, such as increased density, and ignore other factors that contribute to creating good places (such as urban design, uses, street relationship, etc.) • A detailed Q & A session occurred about the basis for identifying some criteria as "required": is it by law, regulation; practice or desire; some of the City 'desires' are identified as required, and should be re-examined as to Page 2 CORP0228-2/02 whether they should be converted to optional and points assigned; would need a corresponding increase in points to reach equivalent levels in the original scoring system P & D staff to continue • A suggestion was made to create more levels with fewer to refine and update points between categories; some members suggested four the guidelines and to levels would be appropriate; others suggested five or more identify alternative scoring / rating • The Committee members expressed concern that they didn't categories for yet understand how easy or difficult it was to reach the discussion at an various levels. It was suggested that a "walk-through" of the upcoming SPAC scoring arrived at for the Mattamy (Duffin Heights) draft plan meeting. and rezoning applications, with members of the previous evaluation team and the SPAC members, would help the Catherine to arrange a Committee members understand the categories and how meeting to go through easy/hard it is to get points a sample scoring 3. 2009 Sustainable Pickering Work Plan Copies of the 2009 Sustainable Pickering Work Plan were distributed to members • Lynn formally introduced and welcomed Chantal as our new Coordinator, Sustainability • The Work Plan will assist in taking the City to the next level of the Sustainable journey and enhance the City's position as a recognized leader in sustainability • A Sustainable Challenge will be launched in the first half of 2009. It will engage residents, businesses, community groups, schools, builders/developers and staff in sustainable programs • Currently working on a new enhanced and updated Sustainable Pickering website that will be more interactive and designed as a fully accessible platform for the Sustainable Pickering Challenge • Need to do some rewriting on the content before bringing to the committee - gathering all imagery and checking for quality assurance • Goal is to have it ready by the end of May and propose to have a launch on June 13th for Sustainable Pickering Day, being held at the Pickering Town Centre (to be confirmed) • Councillor Dickerson noted that he would like to have a Page 3 CORP0228-2/02 photograph of the Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee members on the opening page • Councillor Pickles suggested adding wording for each Council member on the committee • Councillor O'Connell would prefer that Sustainable Pickering Day not be held during the summer in future, due to fewer people being in the mall at that time of the year • Jack advised that staff and advisers held a meeting a few weeks ago to work on principals and purpose and feels that the program will be very user friendly • Essential to have engagement and participation of the public, with the City providing leadership • Tom advised that staff will be working on a concept for the First Sustainabilit Progress Report Copies of the Sustainable Pickering Sponsorship Initiative spreadsheet were distributed to members • Chantal advised that letters were sent out to the listed companies • A commitment of $12,500 has been received of which $10,000 has been received to date • Hopeful that the business community will provide Councillor Dickson will further sponsorship dollars contact SNC • Will follow-up with companies that have not responded Councillor O'Connell will contact Home • Councillor O'Connell contacted Canadian Tire, but did Depot not receive a commitment Staff to provide a new • Tom noted that staff will create a new list for the list to the Committee Committee to consider before additional letters are mailed out 4. Earth Hour • Scheduled for March 28th from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm • Last year's participation was remarkable Page 4 CORP0228-2/02 • The goal is to have one billion participants this year\ • Will advertise on the website in multiple locations, LED Board, event calendars, community page, display at libraries, Municipal Matters, display board at Environmental Leadership Forum, and as an email broadcast to various distribution groups • Fire codes and health and safety issues must be considered and will determine which facilities can or cannot shut off their lights • Fire Hall is eager to participate • A photo contest will be held to allow communities to show how they participated • Photographs will be posted on our website and also showcased in the City's lobby during Earth Week • A second release will be prepared to advertise the photo contest, along with safety tips • Sustainable Committee members will be invited to participate on the selection panel that will choose the contest winners • Merchandise already in place to give out as prizes 5. Eastern Power • Notices have been posted on the City's website and Eastern Power is open for additional comments • Councillor O'Connell advised that the Toronto Zoo is currently working on implementing a large bio mass program and would like to arrange a meeting with Zoo staff to have a better understanding of their program • A question was raised as to if it is necessary to have a further meeting with Eastern Power 6. Other Business • Chantal advised that a Workshop was held last year with community groups to determine what resources are required, and what issues are being encountered. As a result, Environmental Stewardship Pickering is hosting an Page 5 CORP0228-2/02 Environmental Leadership Forum to help groups address these issues • The Environmental Leadership Forum is being held on March 28th • Speakers were obtained at a very low cost • A detailed outline of the forum will be provided to Members of Council next week • Jack advised that the new EcoDriver program, part of Green Communities Canada, has been received well by local businesses. DSA staff are offering "lunch & learn" sessions to teach EcoDriver techniques • DSA has also launched a new program focused on sustainable transportation, funded by MOST (Moving On Sustainable Transportation), under Natural Resources Canada 7. Next Meeting To be determined Meeting Adjourned: 12:10 pm Copy: All Members Chief Administrative Officer Directors City Clerk Page 6 CORP0228-2102