HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-08-057 - 2007 Best Bets for Air Quality - Final ReportKrTC~~R
Development &
Technical Services
REPORT
Report To: Environmental Committee
Date of Meeting: April 24, 2008
Submitted By: JeffWillmer, Director of Planning
Prepared By: Alain Pinard, Manager of Long Range and Policy Planning
X519-741-2319)
Ward~s~ Involved: All
Date of Report: April 18, 2008
Report No.: DTS-08-057
Subject: 2007 Best Bets for Air Quality: Final Report
REC~MMENDATI4N:
That Report ,DTS-08-057 X2001 Best Bets for Air Quality: Final Reporty be received for
information.
INTRODUCTION
This report consolidates the final reports from various City departments on the 2007 Best Bets
for Air Quality.
BACKGROUND:
In May 2006, the Environmental Committee presented a report entitled Air Quality in Kitchener
to Kitchener Council, The report was the culmination of a year of deliberations by members of
the Committee responding to direction from Council in November of 2004 to develop a long-
term, "comprehensive plan" on the air quality in the city of Kitchener. The report included a
series of X50+} Recommended Actions.
In 2006 five of these actions Five Besf Befs} were put forward by the Committee far
investigation by staff into their feasibility. Kitchener Council ratified this committee
recommendation on July 4, 2006 and, in so doing, staff was directed to commence a
consideration of the feasibility, and ways and means of implementing the Five Besf Bets. Final
reports on the 2006 Best Bets were presented at the April 2007 meeting of the Environmental
Committee.
In 2007 five more Best Bets were put forward by the Committee and approved by Kitchener
Council. The Council approved process for selecting and reporting on the five annual Best Bets
includes a final report on the previous year's Best Bets at the April meeting of each year. This
report constitutes the final report for the 2001 Best Bets for Air Quality.
REPORT:
On June 4, 2001 Kitchener Council approved the five Best Bets for 2001 that were
recommended by the Environmental Committee. Interim reports from City staff were provided
at various times during late 2007 and early 2008, and an update on budget implications was
provided at the meeting of February 28, 2008.
In accordance with the Council approved process, relevant staff were asked to provide final
reports on the five Best Bets for 2001. The five Best Bets far 2001 and the responses received
are provided below under each subsection.
Best Bet #~ Su ort com act urban develo ment
1(a) Consider adopting approval processes which are supportive of compact urban
development, including consideration of "fast -tracking" the necessary
development approvals;
Several initiatives that support compact urban development have been completed or are
ongoing. Notable examples include the Design Brief for Suburban Neighbourhoods
completed}, developing new zoning standards for Mixed Use Corridors ongoing}, the Kitchener
Growth Management Strategy ongoing}, and several components related to the Official Plan
Review (start up in 2008}.
Design Brief for Suburban Neighbourhoods
The Design Brief for Suburban Neighbourhoods was approved by Kitchener Council in 2001.
The Design Brief clearly defines the City's design expectations for all new suburban
development. Proponents of suburban development are required to develop a concept plan that
addresses nine objet#ives at the outset of the development review process. The design
objectives include walkability, transit supportive densities and complete communities. Senior
Planner Brandon Sloan attended a meeting of the Environmental Committee in 2001 to provide
an overview presentation of the Design Brief. The complete Design Brief and supporting
documents are posted on the City's website.
Mixed Use Corridors
The City has identified seven mixed use corridors: Belmont Avenue, King Street East, King
Street West, Lancaster Street, Queen Street South, Victoria Street North and Victoria Street
South. Due to their location along major streets they have been identified as opportunities for
significant redevelopment with the objective of creating attractive busy urban environments that
are focal points for the local neighbourhoods. Planning staff is currently developing new zoning
categories that will help promote the Mixed Use Corridor policies. The new zoning categories
are expected to be in place by late 2008.Once in place, the new zoning is expected to be an
incentive for investors to acquire, assemble and redevelop lands in locations which take
advantage of existing infrastructure. Additional information on the Mixed Use Corridor initiative
is posted on the City's website.
Kitchener Growth Management Strategy
Promoting compact development and intensification, and prioritizing greenfield development are
two of the many objectives of the Growth Management Strategy. The Terms of Reference were
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presented to the Environmental Committee in 2007 and the Committee is represented on the
Growth Management Task Force. The target completion date is December 2008. Additional
information on Kitchener Growth Management Strategy is posted on the City's website.
Fast Tracking Development
Fast tracking development approvals that support compact development is not feasible if this
means "stalling" the processing of certain applications and "speeding" up the processing of
others. This approach would require a subjective decision as to what applications better
support compact development when the objective is to encourage this built form in all cases.
Most if not all future development applications should support compact development to some
extent, because the new applications will either support an intensification proposal or greenfield
development in accordance with the Design Brieffor Suburban Neighbourhoods.
Furthermore, "fast tracking" implies that there is "excess capacity" in the system so that the City
can pick and chose which applications it wishes to concentrate on. This is not the case. All City
staff involved in development review have a full workload. All development applications that are
deemed complete under the Planning Act must be processed by the City and there are
prescribed maximum turnaround times or the applicant is entitled to appeal to the Ontario
Municipal Board.
Repor#ed by: Alain Pinard
Manager, Long Range and Policy Planning
1tb} Pursue policies and implement actions that target the re-development of
brownfield properties including establishing incentives financial and non-
financial}and creating partnerships with other parties.
The City of Kitchener's Brownfield Community Improvement Plan {CIP} has been in operation
since November, 2003. The Program provides a financial incentive in the form of Tax
Incremental Grant {TIG) to encourage private industry to clean up {remediate} and re-use
contaminated properties for more productive urban uses.
Since 2006, Staff have been working closely with the Region of Vvaterloo and sister
municipalities to form one Brownfield Program which all municipalities in this Region can use.
The features of the updated Brownfield program are:
1. Tax Incremental Grant (TIG) which includes both the City' and the Region's portion of
the Property Tax Bill, whereas our current Program only includes the City of Kitchener
portion.
2. An administration process modelled after the City of Kitchener Program, allowing both
City and Regional Staff and Councils involvement with each application.
3. A comprehensive grantformulawhich accounts for all other credits {such as
Development Charge credits and Study Grants}.
4. Better coordination between City and Regional efforts to promote clean up.
To implement the new Program, the City of Kitchener needs to amend its existing Community
Improvement Plan, pursuant to Sections 28 and 17 of the Plannr'ngAct. A public meeting will be
held by the City's Development and Technical Services (DTS} Committee on June 16, 2001 to
hear comments an the proposed changes to the City's Brownfield CIP. Approval of the CIP
amendment is anticipated in 2008.
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Reported by: Terry Boutilier
Senior Business Development officer & Brownfield Co-ordinator
Best Bet #2 -Seek continuous improvement from ICI , po t, sources by developing a
tiered approach that includes incentives and flexible regulatory approaches
Zia} Create an incentive program to promote naturalized landscape designs for
industrial, commercial and institutional sites ~e.g. provide an award for best
naturalized design through the City of Kitchener Urban Design Awards program};
The City's Urban Design Awards program recognizes a wide variety of design elements that
include landscape design. Past award recipients have included projects with natural landscape
designs and in one case, the naturalized landscape was the primary basis for the award. At the
present time the Urban Design Awards Program does not have separate categories for different
design elements. The program operates on a two year cycle and 2008 is a year in which
awards will be given. The program is routinely reviewed prior to each award year. This year's
program is already in place. The next award year is 2410.
The City's Urban Design manual now recognizes xerophytic landscaping as an appropriate
landscaping standard. No incentive program is being considered at this time, largely because
natural landscape designs are increasing in popularity. Watering restrictions and concerns with
lawn maintenance costs no doubt encourage this trend along with improved environmental
awareness.
Reported by: Brian Page
Supervisor, Site Development
2(b} Implement LEED principles of site design, where feasible, on all new private and
city- owned developments;
0n March 11, 2008 City Council approved a plan to implement a "green building" design and
construction standard for all new and renovated City awned facilities. New major buildings will
be designed and constructed to be LEED Gold certified and existing facilities will incorporate
energy efficiency into all major retrofits. Staff from Facilities Management attended the
Environmental Committee meeting of February 21, 2008 to explain the program in advance of
the Council decision.
Reported by: Mario Petrr'cevic
Manager, Projects/Energy
Facilities Management
N~ ote: City staff have collectively concluded that at the present time, there is no authority to
require the private sector to implement LEED principles. City staff will encourage the
private sector to implement LEED principles where feasible.
2~c} Implement pollution prevention and eco-efficiency measures ~e.g. LEED, LEED-EB
principles} to retrofits of existing city facilities and proposed new facilities;
The City's "green building" design program described under 2 (b) includes the proposed
measures.
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2(d~ Seek to have industrial development designed to accommodate the use of
bicycles, walking, showers etc. (e.g. currently industrial landslbusiness parks do
not have sidewalks or destinations to walk to);
The Engineering Division is currently reviewing Kitchener's Sidewalk Policy for new
development. It is anticipated that this will be completed in the fall of 2008. The City also
operates a sidewalk installation program for existing urbanized areas. This program supports
the City's Pedestrian Charter and recommended action 2.8 of the Air Quality in Kifchenerreport.
Council renewed its commitment to the program with the approval of report DTS-08-036 on April
7, 2008.
Reported by: Binu Korah, Manager, Development Engineering
Greg McFaggart, Manager of Engineering Asset Plannr"ng
The City's Urban Design Manual requires bicycle parkinglstorage equal to ~ 0% of required
automobile parking on new industrial sites as part of the site plan approval process.
Reported by: Brian Page
Supervisor, Site Development
Note:
The City does not have the authority to require industrial businesses to provide showers on site
but can encourage this practice. The Cycling Master update described under Best Bet #3 also
responds to this Best Bet.
2(e~ Include plans and opportunities for continuous support of new and retrofitted
green practices and technologies;
Actions taken in response to 2a), 2b}, 2d also respond to this Best Bet
2(f~ Advocate for management of emissions from ICI point sources in conjunction with
local air quality initiatives; and,
Note:
There is no specific action or program underway at this time but opportunities for
implementation of Best Bet 2(f} will be explored as we more forward with the updated Strategic
Plan for the Environment and the Local Environmental Action Fund (LEAF}. The Environmental
Committee participated in these major initiatives during the past year and is aware that both
give a high priority to local air quality issues.
Z(g~ Develop business assistance and recognition programs to encourage businesses
to adopt pollution prevention and eco-efficiency measures (e.g. LEED incentives.
As with Best Bet (2fl, implementation of Best Bet 2 (g) will be explored as we more forward with
the updated Strategic Plan for the Environment and the Local Environmental Action Fund
(LEAF).
Best Bet #3 -Facilitate Modal Shift to Bic cle Trans ortation
3(a) Revisit the "Bikeway Study" and have the cycling community (including WRCCy,
participate in the update, set a timeline, and determine budget and staff
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requirements necessary to implement the updated recommendations. In so doing,
staff should tie in this update with the transportation demand management
initiative being undertaken by the~City; and,
3(b} Review the Transportation Demand Management (TDM} study and the revised
"Bikeway Study" to look for gaps and integrate them (e.g. the City should ensure
that pedestrian crossings and cycling issues at roundabouts are addressed in any
TDM study and or updated "Bikeway Study"}.
Transportation Planning staff are currently midway through the Transportation Demand
Management study. This study will develop a specificwork program to start shifting travel
choices away from the single occupant vehicle to other more sustainable modes of transport,
including transit, cycling, walking, carpooling, etc. The study is anticipated to be completed in
mid 2008 with a TDM Coordinator seconded for a one year placement upon completion of the
study.
It is our intent to have the Cycling Master Plan updated as part of our TDM program. We
anticipate that this will be undertaken in 2009, once the initial TDM initiatives are up and
running. We will also be looking at instituting a Kitchener Cycling Advisory Committee to assist
and provide direction in the development of a mare comprehensive cycling network in the City
and we intend to have this committee formed around June 2008.
In addition to the above, we intend to develop a Municipal Transportation Master Plan in 2010
that will help to more clearly define our overall transportation network and a more appropriate
division between auto traffic and other modes. This will be tied into, and be supportive of, the
Regional Transportation Master Plan.
Reported by: John McBride
Director, Transportation Planning
Best Bet #4 -Enhance Green S ace Mana ement
4(a} Adopt a regulatory process to ensure natural features (e.g. unevaluated wetlands,
hedgerows, woodlots etc.} of greenfields are protected and preserved in such
areas prior to the approval process for development of projects thereon;
In 2007, the Planning Division canvassed several Ontario municipalities and researched case
law in order to gain an understanding of the various regulatory options. We are currently
analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the different options and plan to bring forward a
recommendation in 2008.
Reported by: Alain Pinard
Manager, Long Range and Policy Planning
4(b} Investigate partnerships to educate residents of the environmental benefits of
trees in general, but particularly native species, and provide incentives for
planting trees such as re-introducing the Trees for our Future program with an
aggressive promotional campaign;
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Two existing programs with broader mandates already address the objectives of this Best Bet,
albeit in a modest way. However, the opportunity exists to give tree planting a higher priority
within the existing frameworks of those programs.
The Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program which is administered through the
Environmental Committee gives out grants up to $3,000 on an annual basis to organizations
that undertake environmental stewardship projects. Some past projects have included tree
planting, but it is possible to target projects that directly implement this Best Bet, including the
objective of giving preference to native tree species.
Kitchener's Natural Area's Program (KNAP) is a new program developed by the Community
Services Department with local partners for the City's natural areas. The program includes a
wide range of stewardship and educational opportunities that include tree planting. For
example, as part of Earth Week festivities, on Sunday, April 26 at Huron Natural Area,
individuals and families will have opportunities to plant trees, participate in guided nature walks
and learn about natural area restoration. David Schmitt, Environmental and Forest Project
Manager gave an overview of the Program at the Environmental Committee meeting of March
20, 2008. Additional information is also available on the City's website.
Furthermore, there will be opportunities to explore other opportunities to implement this Best Bet
as we more forward with the updated Strategic Plan for the Environment and the Local
Environmental Action Fund (LEAF},
Reported by: Alain Pr'nard
Manager, Long Range and Policy Planning
4(c} Consider implementing a regulatory process whereby lots in new residential
developments are mandated to have, at a minimum, one tree at the front of each
dwelling with native species being used where appropriate; and,
The Design Brief for Suburban Neighbourhoods that was approved by Kitchener Council in
2001 includes a tree planting standard for new greenfield development. Proponents of
development are required to provide at least 1 street tree for each residential dwelling unit and
at least 3 street trees for each flankage lat. It is recognized that this requirement applies to
public road allowances and not private lands as proposed. However, this approach is
considered a viable alternative in achieving the Bets Bet objective because the municipality is
better able to control the fate of stree# trees and many new urban lots are too small for
significant trees. There may be opportunities to further implement this Best Bet as we more
forward with the updated Strategic Plan for the Environment and the Local Environmental Action
Fund (LEAF}.
Reported by. Alain Pinard
Manager, Long Range and Policy Planning
The Community Services Department is looking at developing an approved master tree list for
tree planting, It will include native species but will not be limited to that. In a number of cases
non-native species are better suited to the site conditions additionally depending on what
benefits you want to get from the trees -non-native species may outperform native species.
Reported by: David Schmitt
Environmental and Forest Project Manager
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4(d~ Provide incentives to encourage homeowners to naturalize their front yards (e.g.
turf alternative landscape designs.
Staff are still exploring opportunities to implement this Best Bet. The value of developing an
incentive program that is funded by the City will have to be given serious consideration given
that there is anecdotal evidence that increasingly more homeowners are choosing to naturalize
their front yards without incentives. The Region of Waterloo offers seminars on naturescaping
that feature renowned expert Lorraine Mennen, The seminars held in Kitchener are reportedly
well attended. Additional information on the seminars and naturesacaping in general is posted
on the Region of Waterloo website.
Note:
The City's Street Tree Inventory Program is a major initiative that relates to the objectives of
Best Bet #4 in general. An update of this project was presented at the Environmental
Committee meeting of March 20, 2008. Once more data have been collected, Community
Services staff will provide the Environmental Committee with an update that will include
information on how street trees improve air quality in the city.
Reported by: David Schmi#t
Environmental and Forest Project Manager
Best_Bet #5 -Incentives for Energy.Efficient Development
5~a) Investigate the possibility of providing incentives to encourage a developer to
undertake alarge-scale, energy efficient marketable demonstration project
utilizing clean, energy efficient space hea#ing (e.g. low-energy-use building and
operations, community energy systems and alternatives to fuel combustion such
as geo-exchange, solar applications etc. all intended to reduce emissions of
particulate matter, criteria air contaminants and greenhouse gases).
This past winter Building Division staff visited Reid's Heritage Homes' LEED certified house in
Guelph. In this model home the builder chose to utilize many new products to achieve a
platinum level LEED certification. By using simple modifications to typical construction such as
increased wall stud spacing and pre engineered floor and roof systems, the builder consumed
30% less lumber and reduced product waste by l1 % of typical home construction.
Incorporating geothermal heating, solar panels installed on the roof, the use of grey water for
non-potable systems and increased insulation values throughout the home reduces the
reliability of the home on city services. This in return reduces the negative impact on the
environment and provides annual cost savings to the homeowner. The LEED home
incorporated recycled paint and carpet, energy efficient appliances and light bulbs, dual flush
toilets, 50 year fiberglass roof shingles and bamboo hardwood floors to utilize a few of the
recycled and environment friendly products that are already readily available today. With simple
modifications to a typical house Reid's Heritage Homes has shown how easily you can achieve
a home that will help protect the environment and function more efficiently.
One of our local builders, Eastforest Homes, is experimenting with new and innovative designs
and materials in the City of Kitchener. Eastforest Homes introduced a new termite and mold
resistant lumber called BluWood to the city in 2001 as an option to buyers. BluWood has a
reduced moisture content compared to conventional lumber. With less moisture in the lumber at
the time of installation, the chance of lumber shrinkage after construction is minimized.
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At the start of 2008, Eastforest Homes marketed a project in Kitchener titled "Discovery Home".
The Discovery Home has involved much more planning and design consideration than the
average house in terms of "green" initiatives. The construction drawings and details address all
framing, plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems. The house will be framed with 24 inch
centre in-line framing din lieu of 16"-less wood & increased insulation}, consisting of pre
engineered roof trusses and floor jois#s. Utilizing better planning and pre-engineered lumber
systems, Eastforest Homes is significantly reducing material waste and problems which would
typically arise on site.
This model home will also serve as a learning tool to local trades and students showing different
methods of typical construction. The goal of the Discovery Home is to achieve an Energy Star
Rating for its construction. Currently Eastforest Homes have achieved twelve homes in the
Region with Energy Star ratings. fur builders including Eastforest Homes are continuously
trying to find better and more efficient ways of constructing to create better neighbourhoods in
our city. Unfortunately the City of Kitchener Building Division is not able to offer any incentives
for "green" construction or to obtain Energy Star ratings; however we do provide our services to
discuss any upcoming projects and Building Code compliance.
We have found builders are utilizing Energy Star and other environmentally friendly issues as
part of their marketing to consumers and this is proving to be successful.
Reported by: Mike Selling, Director, Building Services
Martina Schneider, Supervisor, Permits, Building Services
Jenny Taylor, Munr"cipal Building Official
Chris Gowing, Municipal Building Official
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
COMMUNICATIONS:
No external communications were required in order to prepare this report. Information on the
Air Quality in Kitchener report and each year's five Best Bets is available on the City's website.
CONCLUSION:
This report outlines numerous municipal initiatives that implement the 2001 Best Bets for Air
Quality.
Alain Pinard, MA, MCIP, RPP
Manager, Lang Range and Policy Planning
Jeff Willmer, MCIP, RPP
Director of Planning
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