London considers kickstarting a green makeover of local development standards

Updating local standards could ensure new developments in London reflect current environmental realities and the need for greater resilience in the future.

On Tuesday, the Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) discussed a motion by Coun. Skylar Franke and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, directing city staff to update the Site Plan Control By-law and/or the Zoning By-law to include new environmental requirements.

The changes would fill a policy gap until London’s long-delayed Green Development Standard is created.

The motion reads, “Staff have had Green Development Standards on their work plan for many years, but given the various changes such as re-org’s, COVID, Bill 23 etc. this item has been severely delayed.”

“We already have waited, in my opinion, too long,” Franke said after the meeting. “Our climate emergency was passed in 2019, and now it’s 2024 and we’re just going to be starting to look at emissions from construction.”

The new development standards being proposed include:

• 5% of the required parking spaces for buildings (over 40 units) be roughed-in for EV charging
• Minimum 50% native species for landscaping, with no invasive species planted
• Short-term bicycle parking requirement at a rate of 0.1 space / unit in townhouse developments
• the CSA A460 “bird-friendly” standard to be used in building design and construction

Staff would also be directed to review municipal best practices for a by-law to implement sustainable building construction features, including energy efficiency, water conservation, and green roofs.

“Council only has control of certain aspects of a development application,” explains Franke. “We are allowed to make recommendations to site plan authority, and that’s to do with things outside a building. We currently cannot make recommendations for inside a building.”

Mary Ann Hodge of Climate Action London told the committee, “Green Development Standards are not complicated. We know how to do it. We know how to build for higher energy efficiency.”

Developers, utility companies, and other stakeholders would be consulted over the coming months.

“Regardless of what council says, the market is going to drive it,” said Mike Wallace of the London Development Institute, which represents local developers. “If people are buying EVs (electric vehicles), people are going to insist their homes have EV charging stations.”

The planning committee unanimously recommended the motion.

Franke said the additional standards could actually save Londoners money over the long-term by reducing energy costs and avoiding future retrofits.

If council approves the motion on Jan. 23, a staff report would come in Q3 of this year.