FCM’s Green Municipal Fund helps Vaughan Measure Sustainability Performance
Hans Cunningham, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and director of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, B.C., and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of State (Seniors) and Member of Parliament for Vaughan, today announced a Green Municipal Fund™ (GMF) grant for the City of Brampton, the Town of Richmond Hill and the City of Vaughan.
The municipalities will put the $85,000 in GMF funding toward creating sustainability guidelines for development and redevelopment projects.
“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Cunningham. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable."
“Our government is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment through the Green Municipal Fund,” said Minister Fantino. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM — is helping Brampton, Richmond Hill and Vaughan build a greener future for our citizens.”
The three municipalities will conduct a community-based study and develop sustainability guidelines that will inform the processes their councils use to review new development and redevelopment projects.
In the first phase, the City of Brampton will develop sustainable community development guidelines. Their focus will be the planning and design of sustainable communities at a range of scales from Secondary Plan Areas to large scale community plans (Block Plans or Tertiary and, neighbourhood plans) to site plans. The guidelines will address issues such as the appropriate and efficient use of land; creating compact, complete and connected neighbourhoods and communities; built form heritage conservation; the efficient use of water, energy, building materials, and other resources; and enhancing public health through supportive urban forms. The guidelines will also develop a comprehensive list of potential sustainability measures, practices and policy strategies and guide the future development of metrics and measures for implementation such as alternative design standards.
The second phase, led by the City of Vaughan, will test the proposed metrics to ensure that the required and enhanced performance levels are feasible, robust and will result in measureable sustainability gains. There is a specific focus to confirm appropriate metrics and suitable minimums to ensure reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The city’s consultant will conduct workshops with municipal staff, undertake stakeholder consultation, and coordinate an external peer review to recommend the most suitable performance measures and forecast the results of using these measures consistently throughout the municipalities.
Municipal staff will submit a final report to the respective municipal councils, who will either adopt the guidelines or incorporate them into existing regulatory frameworks.
The project is expected to reduce the ecological impact of new development and redevelopment projects, with a particular emphasis to promote measureable decreases in energy consumption and GHG emissions for new developments in the municipalities. The metrics developed through the study will also help the municipalities to monitor changes in factors such as water and vehicle use, waste generation, and renewable energy production.
“The Cities of Brampton, Vaughan and the Town of Richmond Hill embrace the principles of sustainability. They are the foundation to creating healthy, vibrant communities that preserve our built and natural spaces," said Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell.
“We welcome FCM and the Federal Government's contribution which will support our efforts to further our goal of sustainable development. We look forward to working with our municipal partners and other stakeholders who have been instrumental in moving this project forward," said Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua.
“This cooperative partnership and generous grant will help develop a consistent set of guidelines beyond our three municipalities and right across Ontario to build a more sustainable place for us all to live,” said Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow.
The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund™ . The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.
ATTACHMENT:
Federation of Canadian Municipalities News Release
Issued by the City of Vaughan on behalf of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.
“Our government is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment through the Green Municipal Fund,” said Minister Fantino. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM — is helping Brampton, Richmond Hill and Vaughan build a greener future for our citizens.”
The three municipalities will conduct a community-based study and develop sustainability guidelines that will inform the processes their councils use to review new development and redevelopment projects.
In the first phase, the City of Brampton will develop sustainable community development guidelines. Their focus will be the planning and design of sustainable communities at a range of scales from Secondary Plan Areas to large scale community plans (Block Plans or Tertiary and, neighbourhood plans) to site plans. The guidelines will address issues such as the appropriate and efficient use of land; creating compact, complete and connected neighbourhoods and communities; built form heritage conservation; the efficient use of water, energy, building materials, and other resources; and enhancing public health through supportive urban forms. The guidelines will also develop a comprehensive list of potential sustainability measures, practices and policy strategies and guide the future development of metrics and measures for implementation such as alternative design standards.
The second phase, led by the City of Vaughan, will test the proposed metrics to ensure that the required and enhanced performance levels are feasible, robust and will result in measureable sustainability gains. There is a specific focus to confirm appropriate metrics and suitable minimums to ensure reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The city’s consultant will conduct workshops with municipal staff, undertake stakeholder consultation, and coordinate an external peer review to recommend the most suitable performance measures and forecast the results of using these measures consistently throughout the municipalities.
Municipal staff will submit a final report to the respective municipal councils, who will either adopt the guidelines or incorporate them into existing regulatory frameworks.
The project is expected to reduce the ecological impact of new development and redevelopment projects, with a particular emphasis to promote measureable decreases in energy consumption and GHG emissions for new developments in the municipalities. The metrics developed through the study will also help the municipalities to monitor changes in factors such as water and vehicle use, waste generation, and renewable energy production.
“The Cities of Brampton, Vaughan and the Town of Richmond Hill embrace the principles of sustainability. They are the foundation to creating healthy, vibrant communities that preserve our built and natural spaces," said Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell.
“We welcome FCM and the Federal Government's contribution which will support our efforts to further our goal of sustainable development. We look forward to working with our municipal partners and other stakeholders who have been instrumental in moving this project forward," said Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua.
“This cooperative partnership and generous grant will help develop a consistent set of guidelines beyond our three municipalities and right across Ontario to build a more sustainable place for us all to live,” said Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow.
The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund™ . The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.
ATTACHMENT:
Federation of Canadian Municipalities News ReleaseIssued by the City of Vaughan on behalf of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.