Premier Doug Ford’s government is taking another swipe at green standards while rolling back a requirement for municipalities to build climate change goals into their official plans.
Proposed changes in the province’s latest housing bill will roll back municipal enhanced development standards.
Cities and towns may no longer be able to use those standards to require developers to put in sustainable design features beyond what’s set out in the provincial building code or required to maintain health and safety.
That could include requirements to improve park access, add tree canopy, install electric vehicle-ready parking spots or apply bird-friendly window coating.
Halton Hills councillor Jane Fogal calls it — quote — a “gut punch.”
She says the town, like other municipalities, took up a green standard in part because the province’s building code lagged behind on sustainable design and energy efficiency.
Housing Minister Rob Flack says changes in the bill will standardize building requirements to get homes to market faster and more affordably at a tough time for the sector.
But Evan Wiseman, a senior climate policy manager at The Atmospheric Fund, says it will strip municipalities of a key tool to design communities to fit their local needs and markets.
He expects the best developers will continue to build to a high standard — but some will use this opportunity to lower costs and pad their profits.
The minister says he will establish an advisory body to review the provincial building code, though there’s no timeline attached to that work.
Photo By: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
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