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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-007-12 Clarington REPORT PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: January 23, 2012 Resolution #: , f By-law #: Report#: PSD-007-12 File Nos.: PLN 11.4 Subject: GREEN PERMIT INITIATIVE – SHOWCASING WATER INNOVATION GRANT AND GREEN MUNICIPAL FUND GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PSD-007-12 be received; 2. THAT Council support the partnership with the Region of Durham for the Green Permit Initiative; 3. THAT staff be authorized to apply to the FCM – Green Municipal Fund Program; 4. THAT the Municipality's financial contribution of$24,000 per year for the next three years be funded from the Municipal Government Enterprise Reserve Fund; 5. THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute the necessary agreements; and 6. THAT the interested parties list in Report PSD-007-12 be advised of Council's decision. iF i t W Submitted by: 4AP — Reviewed by: Davi J. Crome, MCIP, RPP Franklin Wu Director, Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer COS/df/sn 12 January 2012 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-0830 REPORT NO.: PSD-007-12 PAGE 2 1. PURPOSE 1.1 One of the six priorities of the Municipality's Strategic Plan for 2011-2014 is Promoting Green Initiatives. Within this priority, two objectives identified were to reduce the Municipality's energy consumption and to create a culture of `going green'. The latter included actions to continue the Green Committee of Clarington and develop community participation programs. The Clarington Green Permit Project is one such project derived from the Clarington Green Community Strategy, the work of the Durham Water Efficiency Coordinator and the Regional Roundtable on Climate Change. In 2011, municipal staff were approached by the Region with respect to developing a joint proposal for the Showcasing Water Innovation Program. It was indicated that any project would need to have a direct relationship to the Municipality's responsibilities. The Green Permit concept was developed and in June 2011, a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Environment Showcasing Water Innovation Program. The proposal was successful and the Ministry has awarded the Municipality a grant of$217,500.00 The joint proposal with the Region of Durham was subject to Council approving the local matching contributions in the amount of$72,500. The Region of Durham is making an in-kind contribution of$40,000. The proposal calls for additional funding Green Municipal Fund of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities - FCM. The purpose of this report is to request Council approval of the funding and authorization to proceed with the FCM Grant Application. The FCM Green Municipal Fund opened for another round of applications as of December 11, 2011 with projects in the area of energy, transportation, water and wastewater, and brownfields redevelopment. This project would be submitted under the water and waste water category. 2. BACKGROUND 2.1 Over the last few years, municipalities throughout Ontario have undertaken different initiatives to promote sustainability through better green development practices from site and subdivision design to construction. Clarington has also made a commitment to sustainable development. The following sections provide and overview of Clarington's sustainable initiatives. • The Municipality's Official Plan has, as one of its three pillars, the concept of"sustainable development" with many concrete policies regarding ecosystem integrity, energy conservation, and water and air quality. • The Municipality adopted in principle a Green Community Strategy prepared by the Living Green Community Advisory Committee. The strategy focuses on transportation, energy efficiency (in both new and existing buildings), zero waste, a thriving green economy, and a healthy natural environment. The strategy awaits further resource allocation for implementation. REPORT NO.: PSD-007-12 PAGE 3 • The Municipality has created an Energy Management Plan to enhance the business-related environmental footprint. The plan aims to create a culture of energy conservation in the workplace, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ® Clarington has been working to promote green building principles in both commercial and residential developments. The Region of Durham has also taken a strong stand to support sustainable development including such initiatives as: • Establishing the Durham Region Roundtable on Climate Change to provide leadership in addressing regional climate change issues. The Roundtable is currently completing the third phase of the Local Action Plan winnowing down the potential projects the key projects which hold the promise of substantive impact. • Undertaking a pilot project known as the Water Efficient Demonstration Community project in conjunction with Tribute Communities, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), to assess the potential to improve efficiency in new homes by offering buyers a high-efficiency upgrade option. This project achieved reductions of 22% in water use, 13% in electricity, 9% in natural gas, and 11% in CO2 emissions. 3. OVERVIEW 3.1 The Green Permit Concept The Green Permit Concept is a way of advancing the objectives of both Clarington and Regional Council in a pilot project. It builds upon the results of the Region's Efficient Community project. The most highly ranked incentive from the development community is expedited approvals. The Green Permit Concept is not an actual permit but an approach. Any project would have to meet other criteria in the Official Plan and is not a way of advancing non-sequential development. The key components of the concept are: ■ A review of municipal applications and permit processes to identify areas for improvement and where prioritization could be used in order to fast track "green applications". • Collaboration with the development community to develop specific criteria for what qualifies as a "green application" with a focus on water conservation • Working with a developer for the pilot project. • Providing a municipal staff member to escort "green applications" through the process. • Design and develop a monitoring program for savings in water, energy, and CO2 emissions for developments adopting the "green" standard. • Prepare final report with the identified best practices and recommendations to present it to Council and through workshops and presentations to other municipalities. REPORT NO.: PSD-007-12 PAGE 4 3.2 Funding The proposed budget for the Green Permit Concept is a combination of funding from the three levels of government for a period of three years. The Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Environment Showcasing Water Innovation Program has announced a grant of$217, 500.00 for Clarington. The following table illustrates the proposed cash contributions: Cash Status Contribution MOE 217,500 confirmed Region of Durham 40,000 confirmed —Municipality of Clarin ton 72,500 As recommended in this report FCM — Green Fund 217,500 Application pending Total Contributions $ 547,500 In addition, the project requires a contribution of staff time as an in-kind contribution over the three years. The funds provide for a contract position to coordinate and manage the project for the three years. The project would also cover all the costs like workshops with the development community, purchase/ leasing of monitoring equipment, and data collection and monitoring and preparation of final reports. Upon Council approval, staff may apply for other sources of funding to leverage Clarington's contribution to increase communications and community awareness of the project. Staff recommend funding Clarington's cash share of this initiative over three years from the Municipal Government Enterprise Reserve Fund. 4. CONCURRENCE The Finance Department concurs with the funding recommendations of this report. 5. CONCLUSION 5.1 Over the last few years, municipalities have sought to address one of the key issues of our generation, environmental sustainability. The Green Permit Project is a joint project with Durham Region to explore one possible action. It will develop the criteria for more sustainable greenfield development and pilot a project for an approval system designed to reward developers optimizing the sustainable features in their projects. It includes concrete measurement of the impacts of the projects. It is just one step in the direction of creating a culture of "going green". REPORT NO.: PSD-007-12 PAGE 5 CONFORMITY WITH STRATEGIC PLAN The recommendations contained in this report conform to the general intent of the following priorities of the Strategic Plan: Promoting economic development Maintaining financial stability Connecting Clarington X Promoting green initiatives Investing in infrastructure Showcasing our community Not in conformity with Strategic Plan Staff Contact: Carlos Salazar List of interested parties to be notified of Council's decision: Glen Pleasance, Region of Durham