Item - 2013.PG25.10

City Council on July 16, 17, 18 and 19, 2013, adopted the following:

1.         City Council direct that the Toronto Green Standard Minimum Energy Performance standards for Mid-to-High Rise Residential and Non Residential be revised as follows:

a.         Tier One (GHG 1.1): Design the building(s) to exceed the energy efficiency requirements of the current Ontario Building Code by 15 percent;

b.         Tier Two (GHG 1.3): Design and construct the building(s) to achieve at least 25 percent energy efficiency improvement over the current Ontario Building Code.

2.         City Council adopt the revised Toronto Green Standard Tier 1 and Tier 2 performance measures as presented in Appendix A of the report (May 23, 2013) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning: Mid-High Rise Residential and Non Residential; and Appendix B of the report (May 23, 2013) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning: Low Rise Residential, as amended by Part 1 above, to be applied to new development applications under the Planning Act commencing January 1, 2014, subject to any necessary Official Plan and City-wide Site Plan Control By-law amendments.

3.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Chief Corporate Officer, to develop a comprehensive planning approach to address sustainable energy issues posed by development and report back to City Council with recommendations in 2014, taking into account:

a.         the results of the report on energy and electricity needs associated with growth requested by Council;

b.         the Toronto Regional Electricity Plan being prepared by Ontario Power Authority and Toronto Hydro;

c.         the results of further consultation with the Chief Building Official and Executive Director Toronto Building and stakeholders on increasing sustainable energy targets for new development;

d.          the Council-approved community-wide GHG reduction targets for 2020 and 2050; and

e.          global best practices in energy efficiency standards for buildings, including the use of Energy Use Intensity-based targets.

4.         City Council direct that City Agencies, Corporations and Divisions apply Tier 1 of the Toronto Green Standard,  as amended, as the minimum standard to all capital projects and Tier 2, as amended, at their discretion in requests for proposals effective immediately.

5.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Chief Corporate Officer to jointly undertake a cost benefit analysis of the application of Tier 2 of the Toronto Green Standard, as amended,  to all capital projects undertaken by the City's Agencies, Corporations and Divisions and report back on the findings and recommendations in 2014.

6.         City Council direct that, where technically and financially practical, all new facilities owned by the City's Agencies, Corporations and Divisions with a gross floor area greater than 600m2 install on-site renewable energy devices to generate the equivalent of at least 5 percent of the building's modelled annual energy consumption effective immediately upon the adoption of this Item.

7.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report to the November 21, 2013 meeting of the Planning and Growth Management Committee on the merits and feasibility of revising the Ecology section of the Toronto Green Standard - Mid-to-High Rise Residential and Low Rise Non-Residential Development as follows:

a.         Under Bird Collision Deterrence Development Feature, Required Tier 1 and Voluntary Tier 2:

i.          Change all references of "the first 12 m of the building above grade" to "the first 16 m of the building above grade or to the top of mature tree canopies that exceed 16 m";

ii.         Change all spacing reference from "100mm x 100mm" to "50mm x 50mm";

iii.        Add the following condition:  "Assess the potential of bird collisions for the remainder of the untreated exterior glazing, such assessment to be conducted by a third party satisfactory to the City of Toronto."; and

iv.        Change the clause "12 m of the building" under EC 4.1 Fly-through conditions to read, "16 m of the building above grade, or to the top of mature tree canopies that exceed 16 m".

b.         Under Bird Collision Deterrence Development Feature, Required Tier 1, EC 4.2 Rooftop vegetation:

i.          Change the heading from "EC 4.2 Rooftop vegetation" to "EC 4.2 Rooftop and/or Above Grade Vegetation"; and

ii.         Correct the typo by changing "EC 5.1" to "EC 4.1".

c.         Under Bird Collision Deterrence Development Feature, Voluntary Tier 2, EC 4.4, Enhanced bird friendly glazing:

i.          Change all references of "the first 12 m of the building above grade" to "the first 16 m of the building above grade or to the top of mature tree canopies that exceed 16 m"; and

ii.         Change all spacing references from "100mm x 100mm" to "50 mm x 50mm".

d.         Under Light Pollution Development Feature, Voluntary Tier 2, EC 5.3 Lighting controls:

i.          Change all references of "5 AM" to "6 AM".

e.         Under Light Pollution Development Feature move EC 5.2, Enhanced Lighting from Voluntary Tier 2 to Required Tier 1 and change the reference of "5 AM" to "6 AM".

8.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to establish a working group composed of representatives from City Planning, Toronto Building, the Environment and Energy Office, Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Toronto Hydro, Enbridge, the development industry, and others relevant stakeholders, to assist the industry in meeting the new energy efficiency standards.