HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD 47-06
REPORT TO
COUNCIL
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Report Number: PO 47-06
Date: October 10, 2006
From:
Neil Carroll
Director, Planning & Development
Subject:
Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan (Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Interim Report 2 - September 2006
Recommendation:
1. That Report PO 47-06 of the Director, Planning & Development, regarding the
Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan (Growth Management Study - Phase 3), be
received;
2. That, in light of the progress made to date as outlined in the
Sustainable Neighbourhood Design Guidelines, Interim Report #2, September 2006,
prepared by Dillon Consulting Limited, and provided as Appendix I to
Report PO 47-06, staff be requested to:
(a) report back to Council by the end of 2006 with the Final Draft Sustainable
Neighbourhood Design Guidelines;
(b) establish an approximate six month trial period for testing the Final Draft
Guidelines against development applications submitted to the City; and
(c) identify other initiatives for inclusion in the Planning & Development
Department's 2007 work program, to incorporate the Final Guidelines into the
Department's day to day operations and procedures; and
3. That a copy of Report PO 47-06 be forwarded to the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities, ROC Group, Canada Green Building Council, the Minister of
Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Director of the North Pickering Land Exchange
Team, the Region of Durham and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
Executive Summary: In June 2006, Council considered Report PO 39-06 on the
Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan (SNP). The purpose of the SNP is to prepare
Sustainable Neighbourhood Design Guidelines containing measurable performance
targets for assessing neighbourhood development in Pickering. The intent is that all
new development will meet, or exceed, a defined minimum level of sustainability.
Since June, staff with the assistance of a consulting team lead by Dillon Consulting
Limited, continued refining the guidelines and revising the targets. Meetings were held
with district energy providers, and contact was made with the Canada Green Building
Council respecting use of the Pickering's SNP Guidelines as a model for a Canadian
version of the draft Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Neighbourhood
Development (LEED-ND) standards that were developed in the United States.
Report PO 47-06
07"-
. . :Subject: Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Date: October 10, 2006
Page 2
Dillon Consulting Limited has prepared the Sustainable Neighbourhood Design
Guidelines, Interim Report #2, September 2006, summarizing work over the last three
months and outlining next steps. Interim Report #2 is provided as Appendix I to
Report PO 47-06.
It is anticipated that the Final Draft Guidelines will be completed by the end of this year.
In 2007, staff anticipates testing the Guidelines with planning professionals, the building
industry, and the community. Subsequently, the Guidelines will be finalized and
Departmental procedures changed as necessary to reflect the City's focus on
sustainability. As the SNP is one of several related projects the City is undertaking on
sustainability, current and future work is being coordinated with other sustainability
initiatives the City is undertaking.
Financial Implications: No funding implications as a result of adopting the
recommendations of this report.
The total budget for the Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan was $241,000.00. Half of the
funding ($120,500.00) is from a grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Green Enabling Fund. The City is contributing the remaining half of the funds
($110,000.00) from Growth Management Study Phase 3: continuing studies reserve -
account 2611-2392; and $10,500.00 from 2005 new consultative expenditure - Growth
Management Study Phase 3: Sustainable Development Plan - account 2611-2392.
As of the end of September 2006, approximately $75,000.00 remains for this project.
Background:
1.0 Significant work has occurred with the guidelines to clarify their intent,
reduce overlapping criteria, reflect the Ontario planning system, and
identify Pickering-specific targets.
Report PO 39-06, considered by Council in June 2006, identified that the
framework from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -
Neighbourhood Developments (LEED-ND) was a good starting point for the
development of measurable performance criteria for Pickering. It was noted,
however, that in light of the American origin of the document, and the differences
in the planning systems between the United States and Ontario, the performance
indicators and the targets required adapting to fit Pickering.
For example, in setting Pickering-specific targets, an energy performance rating
equal to Energuide 80 is being proposed. This rating is the minimum level of
energy efficiency that will be required for all new houses in 2012 under recent
changes to the Building Code Act.
Report PD 47-06
Date: October 10, 2006
Subject: Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Page 3
078
However, as an incentive to achieve this performance level ahead of 2012,
Pickering's proposed SNP Guidelines would award a higher number of points for
developments achieving the equivalent of an Energuide 80 rating level in the
next few years, and a lower number of points for achieving this minimum rating
closer to the 2012 mandatory compliance date. An extract of this performance
measure is shown on Page 7 of Appendix I to Report PD 47-06
The point system would be as follows:
. 10 points would be awarded if a builder achieves an energy efficiency rating
equivalent to Energuide 80 by 2007;
. 9 points if achieved by 2008;
. 8 points if achieved by 2009;
. 6 points if achieved by 2010;
. 2 points if achieved by 2011; and
. 0 points if achieved by 2012 as mandated by legislation.
Another Pickering-specific target being proposed addresses a matter that is
being pursued with respect to water consumption. The proposed performance
measure is that separate water meters be installed for each unit within
multi-residential developments. The intent is to encourage responsible water
consumption at the household level.
In making the Guidelines Pickering-specific, the appropriateness of the four core
categories of development used in LEED-ND was also reviewed. Several
changes have been made so that the working draft of the SNP Guidelines now
has seven core categories. The table below compares the core categories
between LEED-ND and the City's work to date.
LEED-ND Pickering SNP
Core Categories Core Categories
(draft 2005) (working draft Sept. 2006)
Location Efficiency Location of Lands
Environmental Preservation Environmental Protection
Compact, Complete and Mix of Uses
Connected Neighbourhood Intensity
Connections
Resource Efficiency Resource Efficiency
Adaptability
U~~~ort PO 47-06
Date: October 10, 2006
Subject: Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Page 4
Another attribute of development in Pickering that may need to be reflected in
Pickering's SNP Guidelines is that of "high quality design". This element is still
being examined by staff and the consulting team to determine whether it fits
within one of the seven core categories, whether it should be a new category on
its own, or whether achieving high quality design requires a separate but
complementary process to the preparation of the SNP Guidelines.
While the original LEED-ND framework had only seven required (or
'prerequisite') performance measures out of a total of some 140, the working
draft of the Guidelines for Pickering currently has approximately 70 required
performance measures. This is similar to the number of required measures
suggested through the March 3, 2006 workshop). The remaining performance
measures are optional and give extra points (or 'credits').
The increase in the number of required performance measures in the Pickering
draft in comparison with the draft LEED-ND document, results from a
combination of a number of factors including: the sophistication of planning and
development in southern Ontario; the increasing market demand for sustainable
features and attributes; and Pickering's interest in being a leader in sustainable
development. Nevertheless, the number of required performance measures
might change as revisions continue to be made to the working draft.
The working draft of Guidelines is being set up to establish performance
measures to evaluate both neighbourhood plans and development applications.
Examining the scope of the performance criteria from LEED-ND against the
City's conceptual framework for sustainability (see Attachment #1), staff finds
that the LEED-ND framework (and thus Pickering's working draft
SNP Guidelines) corresponds better to some of the objectives than others. The
relationship is set out below:
Scope of LEED-ND Criteria
Pickering's Sustainability Framework compared with Pickering's
Sustainability Framework
Objective 1: Healthy Environment High
Objective 2: Healthy Society Low
Objective 3: Healthy Economy Low
Objective 4: Responsible Development High
Objective 5: Responsible Consumption High
Report PO 47-06
Date: October 10, 2006
Subject: Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Page 5
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The comparison above may assist in establishing additional performance
measures and a scoring system that identifies the nature of change required by
development to achieve "Pickering Sustainability", not just LEED sustainability.
To date, the working draft of the Guidelines assigns points for each performance
measure, although the overall scoring system is not yet established.
Work will continue refining the performance criteria and targets through review
by staff, the consulting team, and selected technical review. The Final Draft
Guidelines will then be forwarded to Council by the end of the year with a
recommended testing and implementation program.
2.0 Preliminary conclusions from meetings held with district energy providers
suggest that Seaton is an ideal planning opportunity to consider
establishing a district energy supply for the community, and that a high
level feasibility test should be undertaken.
In keeping with the City's interest in the energy sector and sustainability Council,
through Report PO 39-06, requested staff to investigate the potential for district
energy production, and meet with known providers.
"District energy" refers to providing the heating and cooling to buildings through
one or more centralized energy plants that can produce energy with high
efficiency and with low environmental impacts. Most systems also have a
co-generation component where electricity is generated and used to power the
system, and/or sold to the electricity grid.
The fuel for creating heat and cooling is typically natural gas in the initial stages
but can evolve over time into more environmentally positive and less price
volatile fuels such as bio-fuels, solid waste, waste pellets, solar or geothermal. A
district heating system would replace conventional heating and cooling systems
(that is, boilers/chillers for employment, commercial, and multi-residential uses,
and conventional home furnaces, air conditioners and water heaters in grade-
related homes).
The key advantages of such systems are: the security of supply for the users;
potentially more stable costing that is comparable to conventional systems for
the users; the potential to ensure low impact energy systems on a broad-scale;
and the potential financial benefit through cost recovery and selling of electricity
to the operator.
With respect to the SNP, meetings were held with representatives from two key
district energy providers: Enwave (which is located in City of Toronto) and
Markham District Energy Inc. A meeting was also held with Enbridge Gas
Distribution.
Report PD 47-06
Date: October 10, 2006
o 7~bject: Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Page 6
However, currently Enbridge Gas is not set up to deliver district energy. A
meeting is being set with their sister company, Enbridge Inc. who coordinates
Enbridge's business development activities.
Preliminary conclusions with respect to district energy are that the timing to
consider district energy in Seaton is very opportune, as no development has yet
taken place. District energy can be used to serve both non-residential uses,
multi-unit residential as well as grade related residential. However, a minimum
threshold of development is required. Thus, a further high-level pre-feasibility
test of the densities and employment figures for Seaton will be taken as part of
the SNP project. A full feasibility study would be required should Council wish to
explore district energy supply further, and such a study is beyond the scope of
the SNP work program.
3.0 The Canada Green Building Council (GBC) is currently focusing on
preparation of a Canadian version of LEED standards for "campus-style"
development.
In mid September, an update on the status of the City's work on the
SNP Guidelines was provided to Mr. Neil Munro, a representative from the GBC.
Mr. Munro advised that the GBC is currently focusing their attention on preparing
a Canadian version of LEED for "Campus Style" development, and have not yet
commenced work on the "LEED - ND" for Canada. However, there may be
similarities between the scale of development in a "campus" and a
neighbourhood. Our lead consultant will be participating as a reviewer of the
GBC's draft campus standards to share knowledge gleaned through the City's
work.
A copy of the City's Report to Council will be forwarded to the GBC, and they will
continue to be apprised of the City's activities on the SNP Guidelines.
APPENDIX:
Appendix 1: City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan: Sustainable
Neighbourhood Design Guidelines, Interim Report #2, September 2006,
prepared by Dillon Consulting Limited et al.
Attachment:
1. City of Pickering Sustainability Framework, from Report CO 01-06 of the Chair,
Benchmarking Sustainability Standards Committee, Attachment 1 -- Sustainable
Pickering: A Framework for Benchmarking Sustainability, June 2006, prepared
by the ROC Group.
Report PD 47-06
Date: October 10, 2006
Subject: Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(Growth Management Study Phase 3)
Page 7
080
Prepared By:
Approved I Endorsed By:
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Director, Planning & Development
Catherine Rose, MCIP, RPP
Manager, Policy
CR:cm
Attachment
Copy: Chief Administrative Officer
Division Head, Corporate Projects & Policy
Benchmarking Sustainability Standards Committee
Recommended for the consideration of
Pickering City Council i f:
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APPENDIX I TO
REPORT PD 47-06
City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
Sustainable Neighbourhood Design Guidelines
Interim Report #2, September 2006
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Sustainable
Neighbourhood
Design Guidelines
Interim Report # 2
September 2006
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City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
SNP Interim Report #2 - September 2006
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1.0 INTRODUCTION ...... ............................................................ .................. .... .... ...... 1
1.1 Purpose and Objectives............................................................................. 1
1.2 Format of Report..... ......... ..... .............. ..... .... ........ ... .............. ...... ..... ..........2
2.0 PROJECT STATUS.............................................................................................. 2
2.1 Study Process............................................................................................ 2
2.1.1 Consultation .................................................................................... 3
2.2 Development of Neighbourhood Design Guidelines ..................................3
2.2.1 Develop Regulatory Parameters/Policies........................................ 4
2.2.2 Review of Guidelines by City staff................................................... 4
2.2.3 Agency Consultation....................................................................... 7
2.2.4 District Energy................. ...... ....................... .......... ........ ........ ......... 7
2.3 Proposed Implementation Framework ....................................................... 9
3.0 NEXT STEPS ..................................................................................................... 10
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1
Examples Applications of the Sustainable Neighbourhood Design
Guideline.................................................................................................... 5
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 The Balance of Environment, Society and Economics in a Sustainable
Community................................................................................................. 1
Figure 2.1 Process for Developing Sustainable Neighbourhood Development
Guidelines.................................................................................................. 3
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
This report is the second interim report for
the Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
(SNP) project. It provides a summary of
the activities and outcomes for the project
completed between June 2006 to
September 2006, the period since the first
interim report for this project (dated June
2006) was prepared. Although some of
the activities and outcomes of the project
conducted prior to June 2006 are
included in this report, a more detailed
description of the activities prior to June
2006 is presented in the first SNP Interim
Report - June 2006.
1.1 Purpose and Objectives
In 2005, the City of Pickering commenced
the Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
Project with the assistance of the Green
Municipal Enabling Fund. The City and
its partners recognized the need to
provide a solid foundation for future
development and to provide the
leadership, guidance and support
required to make Pickering a sustainable
city. The SNP Project is part of the
Sustainable Pickering initiative. Other
~ustainability initiatives in Pickering
Include establishing benchmarking
standards for sustainability, Partners for
Climate Protection program and
Sustainable Downtown.
Sustainability is important to Pickering
because sustainable communities reduce
the impact of the built form on the
environment while ensuring the long-term
economic durability and social cohesion
of the community. In other words,
economic, social and environmental
needs are balanced in the community
(Figure 1.1). Note that with respect to
community design, the word 'community'
is used as a broad term that
encompasses a range of scales from
neighbourhood to site.
Figure 1.1 The Balance of Environment, Society and Economics in a Sustainable Community
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The purpose of the SNP Project is to
develop sustainability principles and
strategies with measurable criteria as the
basis for Sustainable Neighbourhood
Design Guidelines for future development
in Pickering. The objectives of the SNP
are to:
1. Identify a new approach to
development;
2. Establish a practical set of
guidelines for sustainable
community design that will be
applied throughout Pickering; and
3. Work collaboratively with municipal
staff, developers, residents, energy
providers, businesses and others
to create a far reaching, innovative
guideline.
1.2 Format of Report
This report is presented in three main
sections. Section 1, the introduction,
provides an overview of the context,
purpose and process of the SNP project.
The second section provides a summary
of the status of the project including the
development of the Pickering-specific
Sustainable Neighbourhood Guidelines
and the proposed implementation
process of the Guidelines. The final
section provides an overview of the next
steps in the development of the
sustainable neighbourhood plan.
2.0 PROJECT STATUS
The progress of the project from June
2006 to September 2006 is described in
the following sections, including work
related to the development of the
guidelines as well as the associated
implementation process.
2.1 Study Process
A general overview of the study process
is shown in Figure 2.1. Note that an
additional step has been shown for the
study that will be completed by the City,
after the Dillon Team has completed their
portion of the study. This step includes a
consultation and trial period in which the
draft document will be presented to
stakeholders to obtain their feedback.
Feedback obtained during this
consultation period will be used to revise
the guideline document.
Prior to June 2006 (before the first Interim
Report was completed) the following
components of the study were completed:
· The development of the Sustainable
Neighbourhood Design Guidelines for
Pickering was initiated by establishing
the objectives of the project.
· Background
sustainable
collected.
· A best practices report, describing
case studies on sustainable
community design, was prepared from
this review of the literature.
information
neighbourhoods
on
was
· A list of objectives and strategies for
sustainable neighbourhoods was then
created and the framework for the
development guidelines was created.
The development of Pickering-
specific targets for sustainability was
initiated as well as the process for
implementation of the Guidelines.
.
· Consultation was conducted with
various stakeholders at workshops
and an open house.
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III FCM SNP Proiect r----------
~ I Step 4: Consultation
Step 3: I and Trial Period (to be
Implementation: I completed by the
Step 2: Consensus I City):
Step 1: Building: - I
Set targets for I -Present guidelines
Background -Identify and meet required and I to stakeholders to
Research: optional strategies I obtain feedback
with stakeholders
- Best practices -R . -Identify tools for -Test usability of the
review alse awareness on implementation
benefits of sustainable guidelines by
- Develop list of design - conducting trial runs
Complete using existing
- technical team developments
Develop "made for meetings
Pickering" guidelines -Revise guidelines if
-Deliver final draft
guidelines required
Figure 2.1. Process for Developing Sustainable Neighbourhood Developmfmt GUicielines
The project is currently in the third step
(Implementation). Between June and
September 2006, the development of
the guidelines and identification of the
implementation process continued.
2.1.1 Consultation
As shown in Figure 2.1, the study
process includes consultation with the
general public and other stakeholders.
Although two workshops and an open
house were held before June 2006 (as
described in Interim Report #1), no
formal consultation was conducted from
June to September 2006. However,
select stakeholders, including staff from
City departments as well as external
agencies have been engaged to provide
feedback on the guidelines. The results
of consultation with City staff and
outside agencies are described in more
detail in Section 2.2. Note that after the
completion of the FCM SNP Project,
additional consultation, to be conducted
by the City, is planned for a 6 month
period starting in early 2007 to review
the guidelines document with a variety
of stakeholders (Step 4).
2.2 Development of Neighbourhood
Design Guidelines
As described in the first Interim Report
(June 2006), the Pickering-specific
Sustainable Neighbourhood Design
Guidelines are being developed based
on the LEED-
ND document
as well as case
study research
and stakeholder
input. The
Guidelines will
be prepared as
a stand-alone
document and
will be similar to
the LEED-ND
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City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
SNP Interim Report #2 - September 2006
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format, with detailed targets for each
strategy described.
Since the first Interim Report was
issued, the development of the
Pickering-specific neighbourhood design
guidelines has continued. The focus of
the work since June has been on
ensuring that the proposed targets and
strategies are appropriate for Pickering.
In addition, the regulatory parameters
and policies associated with the
guidelines were further developed.
These tasks are described in the
following sections.
2.2.1 Develop Regulatory
Parameters/Policies
The list of strategies and targets was
reviewed by the Dillon Team to identify
how they can be implemented given the
current regulatory regime. Approvals
needed by agencies as well as
requirements for additional regulations
(Le. creation of new by-laws) were
identified.
2.2.2 Review of Guidelines by City
Staff
To determine if the proposed guidelines
are appropriate in the Pickering context,
the draft guidelines were distributed to
City staff for review. Staff from the
Planning and Development Department,
including Planning, Building Services
and Development Control, reviewed the
guidelines for the proposed required
strategies and provided comments with
respect to the format, content and
implementation process. The
applicability of the proposed targets for
Pickering was reviewed and revisions
were proposed.
Proposed revisions included changes to
the categories (or core elements) of
strategies. The four original categories
based on the LEED-ND document
included: location efficiency:
environmental preservation: compact,
complete and connected
neighbourhoods; and resource
efficiency. The list of core elements was
revised to include the following
categories:
1. Location of Lands
2. Environmental Protection
3. Mix of Uses
4. Intensity
5. Connections
6. Resource Efficiency
7. Adaptability
Another example of changes proposed
through the City review of the draft
guidelines included the addition of a
strategy to require that all new
residential development satisfy the
requirements of the Ontario Building
Code (OBC) 2012 energy performance
rating (Energuide 80) at an earlier time
than required by legislation.
Excerpts from the updated version of
the draft guidelines are presented in
Table 2.1.
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Table 2.1 Example Applications of the Sustainable Neighbourhood
Design Guideline.
Example #1. Site location selection using an example of a new building that would be
constructed on the Pickering Town Centre parking lot.
Samole Guideline
LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT/SELECTION OF
LANDS
Site Location
Eligible Points
Total
Points
Awarded
The lands subject of the draft plan/rezoning/site plan:
. are located within the Downtown Core (Urban 1 0 pts 10 pts
Growth Centre);
OR
. are located within the 2003 built boundary; 7 pts
OR
. are designated urban; 3 pts
OR
. are designated rural settlement. 1 pt
AND
. were previously developed; 3 pts 3pts
OR
. are located on an inti" site; 2 pts
OR
. are located on adjacent to a previously development 1 pt
site.
AND
. are documented as a site currently contaminated
requiring remediation or brownfields; and
0 The cost of remediation is $1 million or greater; or 1 0 pts
0 The cost of remediation is less than $1 million; 6 pts
OR
. are located on a formerly contaminated but 5 pts
remediated site;
Totals This Criteria 23 pts max 13 pts
achieved
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Table 2.1 continued
Example #2. Integration of the new Ontario Building Code requirements before the
required date using new construction in 2008 at Energuide 80 performance levels for
energy as an example.
Sample Guideline
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
Eligible Points
Total
Points
Awarded
Ontario Building Code
The lands subject of the draft plan/rezoning/ site plan
are governed by official plan/ neighbourhood plan
policies requiring all new residential development (10
units or greater and requiring either site plan or
subdivision approval):
· to satisfy the requirements of the Ontario Building
Code 2012 energy performance rating (Energuide 15 pts
80) by 2007, and to require developers to enter into
appropriate development agreements to meet this
condition and obligation
OR
· to satisfy the requirements of the Ontario Building
Code 2012 energy performance rating (Energuide
80) at an earlier time frame than required by current
legislation;
AND
· At the time of submission/approval of the application
for draft plan/rezoning/ site plan, the project identifies
the anticipated year of construction and indicates
agreement to conditions of approval to that effect;
5 pts
5 pts
2007: 10 pts
2008: 9 pts;
2009: 8 pts.
2010: 6 pts;
2011: 2 pts;
9 pts
Totals This Criteria
15 pts max
14 pts
achieved
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City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
SNP Interim Report #2 - September 2006
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2.2.3 Agency Consultation
Since the first interim report, which
described an initial meeting with the
Toronto Region Conservation Authority
(TRCA), a second meeting was held
with the TRCA to present them with the
updated guidelines document (including
the draft implementation process) and
request their feedback on the content of
the guidelines as well as the
implementation process. It was agreed
that TRCA complete the review of the
document, with specific focus on the
environmental protection section and
provide feedback by mid October.
2.2.4 District Energy
One interesting and far-reaching
opportunity for sustainable infrastructure
in Seaton is to provide energy to the
homes and businesses through a district
energy system. The proposed
guidelines include district energy as one
optional environmental performance
target. To fully explore this important
option, Council authorized the SNP
team to undertake additional preliminary
investigations after June 2006. The
results of these investigations are
presented below.
The broad objective is to provide
heating and cooling through one or
more centralized energy plants that can
produce energy with high efficiency and
with low environmental impacts. Most
systems also have a co-generation
component where electricity is
generated and used to power the
system and/or sold to the electricity grid.
The fuel for creating heat and cooling is
typically natural gas in the initial stages
but can evolve into more
environmentally positive and less price
volatile fuels such as bio-fuels (e.g.
ethanol, bio-ethanol), solid waste, waste
pellets, solar or geothermal over time.
This system would replace conventional
heating and cooling systems (e.g.
individual home furnaces and
boilers/chillers for employment uses).
The key advantages of such systems is
the security they provide to users, the
potential to ensure low impact energy
systems on a broad-scale, the potential
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
the potential financial benefit to the
operator through cost recovery and
selling of electricity and potentially more
stable costing that is comparable to
conventional systems for users.
District energy is wide-spread through
much of Europe and is beginning to
emerge in the GT A market. Notable
recent projects include Regent Park in
Toronto and the Markham District
Energy System set to provide heating
and cooling for 100% of the new
downtown area in Markham.
Preliminary investigations of the
opportunities presented by district
energy are being undertaken as part of
the SNP project. To date, three
meetings have taken place:
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· Enbridge Gas Distribution
· Enwave Corporation
· Markham District Energy
These meetings have highlighted some
opportunities and constraints to district
energy in Pickering and highlight the
need for a more in-depth feasibility
analysis outside the SNP project scope.
Some of the key findings are
summarized as follows:
· The decision to implement district
energy is best taken well in advance
of development because retrofit will
typically cost in the range of 50%
more; most of the district energy
infrastructure must be placed in the
rights of ways along with roads,
wires and pipes and the cost savings
to make the program financially
feasible are contingent on furnaces
and boilers not being built in each
building as they would for a
conventional community (note that
individual units would still require
internal distribution systems);
· Multi-unit residential, office,
commercial, industrial and grade-
related residential can all be served
by district energy;
· A full commitment by the City would
be needed to pursue a district
energy program;
· The key challenge to implementing
district energy is not the technology
but rather launching the
organizational will and structure to
plan, manage and operate a district
energy system;
· Markham believes that there are
significant financial benefits to the
town of planning and running their
own system in their circumstance;
· Private partners are available to
assist the City in investigating the
feasibility and financial viability of
district energy as well as to partner
in implementation of the program.
However, taking on partners
diminishes the independence and
"public" focus of the initiative (e.g. a
private partner may be more
interested in the bottom line and less
interested in environmental
improvements or comprehensive
application) ;
· The Town of Markham provides a
good municipal model for
implementation of district energy with
respect to organizational and
administrative options;
· Enbridge gas, though interested in
Pickering's project does not currently
have organizational infrastructure in
place to assist Pickering. They may
have some technical expertise they
will offer;
· Enwave is interested in working with
Pickering to further analyze and
implement a district energy strategy;
· The density of residential
development will be a key factor in
defining the feasibility of district
energy for all or part of Seaton;
· The nature of the employment uses
will influence the feasibility of district
energy (e.g. projects with higher
employee and energy needs are
preferable to warehousing, low
density employment uses);
· Typically, the district energy system
is anchored with one or more large
energy users (e.g. IBM in Markham,
large tracts of dense residential
including high rise in Regent Park).
This provides a guaranteed
customer base upon which to invest
capital for infrastructure.
Dillon Consulting Limited
Page 8
City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
SNP Interim Report #2 September 2006
~'i_...
A.I ~.
PI
092
2.3 Proposed 1m plementation
Framework
Since the last interim report was
prepared, the implementation framework
has been further developed to reflect the
stages of the planning process at which
each strategy/target would be
implemented. The guidelines
document has been reformatted to
reflect the division of the
strategies/targets based on the planning
process (Table 2.1). Also note that the
guidelines document includes both
required and optional performance
targets in the same table.
The Guidelines will be implemented at
three levels:
· Official Plan (OP)
· Neighbourhood Plans (NP)
· Plans of Subdivision (POS) as
well as Rezoning and Site Plans
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Plans of Subdivision.
The Official
Plan will
provide overall
provisions that
refer to the
Sustainable
Design
Guidelines and
their
implementation
through the
Neighbourhood
Plans and
For Neighbourhood Plans and Plans of
Subdivision, the intention is that each
required sustainability performance
target will identify: 1) the minimum
requirements for approval; as well as 2)
policy options for incremental
improvement beyond this minimum.
Points will be assigned to the policy
options reflecting the appropriate level
of performance (e.g. native species for
50% of exterior vegetation receives less
points than for 100% of exterior
vegetation).
As discussed in the first interim report, a
point system will be used to score the
development applications. Points will
be allocated to each successful strategy
and will allow developers to choose
amongst a variety of optional
strategies/targets in addition to all of
those that are required. The minimum
number of points will be achieved by
implementing all the required strategies
as well as a selection of optional
strategies. In addition, points will be
achieved at both the Neighbourhood
Plan and the Plans of Subdivision
stages.
The inclusion of additional strategies
and targets in development approvals
are important to enhance the
sustainability of neighbourhood designs
beyond that achieved by the req~ired
elements. A wide range of optional
strategies will be identified in the
Sustainable Neighbourhood Design
Guidelines. The intention is to allow
some flexibility for developers to choose
among these strategies and combine
them in a manner that meets the skills,
market and comfort of the developer
and yet achieves a significant level of
environmental, social and economic
benefit.
As described in the first interim report,
the application of the strategies and
targets can be implemented through a
range of approaches from very
regulatory to more voluntary:
Dillon Consulting Limited
Page 9
:D~.~
City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
SNP Interim Report #2 - September 2006
c.
rfIj -:-.
1. Official Plan Amendment
The OPA will direct that a
certain number of points must
be achieved in neighbourhood
plans and development
applications. The OPA will list
the required and optional
strategies, targets and point
system.
OR
2. Council Policy
Council will adopt a Special
Policy that required and
optional strategies and targets
will be met through the point
system in all neighbourhood
plans and development
applications. Ideally, some
value to developers will be
attached to success such as a
development charge credit, an
application fee reduction or
reduced processing time.
3.0 NEXT STEPS
As discussed in the sections above,
there are many steps in the
development of the Guidelines that must
be completed before Pickering can
implement the Guidelines. Some of
these steps can be completed within the
existing work plan. However others are
beyond the scope of the SNP work
funded partially by FCM. The items that
can be completed within the existing
work plan include:
Guidelines Document
· The Guidelines document will
continue to be refined, with a target
of completing a final draft version by
the end of 2006.
· Comments from TRCA regarding the
strategies and targets for
Environmental Protection will be
incorporated into the guidelines
document, as appropriate.
· A quick test of the guidelines will be
conducted on a Pickering
development application as a trial.
· Where appropriate, illustrations
including maps and figures will be
used to describe the visible and
"invisible" sustainability features
described in some of the strategies
and targets (i.e. including the
"visible" urban design, and the
"invisible" building envelope and
infrastructure characteristics). Local
Pickering examples will be included.
· Technical team meetings with the
Region and development industry
will be completed.
District Energy
· Undertake further meetings with
Enbridge Inc. who are a sister
organization to Enbridge Gas
Distribution and are coordinating
business development;
· Identify funding opportunities to
support feasibility assessment stage;
and
· Consider undertaking a pre-
feasibility assessment of district
energy for Seaton as part of the SNP
project to: 1) confirm that moving on
to a feasibility assessment stage is
reasonable; and 2) help to write the
terms of reference for a feasibility
assessment.
Dillon Consulting Limited
Page 10
City of Pickering Sustainable Neighbourhood Plan
SNP Interim Report #2 - September 2006
~
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Implementation
· The implementation process will
be refined, including the point
system as well as identifying
recognition or incentives for
participation in the program, such
as reduced development charges
and/or fast-tracking development
applications.
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Funding
· A list of funding sources for
additional work will be prepared.
The following items will also need to be
completed but are beyond the scope of
the existing work plan:
· In early 2007, the City will
present the draft guidelines
document to various stakeholders
to obtain feedback on the
strategies, targets and
implementation process;
· Testing of the Guidelines should
be conducted (e.g. a pilot project
for an area such as Duffins
Heights);
· Conducting a feasibility study for
district energy in new areas of
greenfield development;
· Preparing the detailed
implementation strategy including
preparation of an OPA and
updating by-laws and City
Standards; and
· Staff training on sustainability and
the guidelines.
Dillon Consulting Limited
Page 11
C9:i
ATTACHMENT'
REPORT # PO
/ TO
1../7- il ~
Sustainable Pickering Framework
OBJECTIVE 1: HEAL THY ENVIRONMENT
. Our Air . Our Water
. Our land . Our Plants & Animals
OBJECTIVE 2: HEALTHY SOCIETY
. Basic Needs (food, shelter, access) . HealthlWell-being/Happiness
. Education/Literacy . Arts/Cu Iture/Heritage
. Community Safety/Preparedness . Citizen Participationllnvolvement
OBJECTIVE 3: HEAL THY ECONOMY
. Employment Opportunities . labour Participation Rates
. Income levels . Business Attraction/Expansion
. Innovation/Entrepreneursh ip . AgriculturelThe Rural Economy
OBJECTIVE 4: RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT
. Building/Structures . Neighbourhoods
. Transportation System . The City of Pickering
OBJECTIVE 5: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
. Energy Use . Water Use
. Food Consumption . Waste Production/Diversion