2021/10/14
DRAFT MOTION – CLIMATE CHANGE MOTION 1 – GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa declared a Climate Emergency on April 24, 2019;
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa approved a Climate Change Master Plan in January, 2020 with a view to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050;
WHEREAS expansion of the settlement area (urban and village) and intensification of the currently built up area are land use decisions with the greatest potential impact on GHG emissions;
WHEREAS the current draft of the Official Plan does not provide guidance to the process for aligning intensification targets with reported annual progress on GHG emissions or for reporting on the evolving demand for expansion lands in relation to trends in GHG emissions.
BE IT RESOLVED THAT that new subsection 7) be added to 3.1 (Designate Sufficient Land for Growth) as follows:
7) To reduce greenhouse gas emissions through land-use, transportation and energy planning consistent with Council-approved greenhouse gas reduction targets, projected demand for urban expansion will be reported on as part of the Climate Change Master Plan’s annual status updates considering the following objectives:
a) Alignment with local energy utilities to help control the cost of distribution, facilitate on-site generation and support local distributed energy;
b) Energy efficient built forms and proximity to a mix of land uses;
c) Maximize the energy and emission reduction performance of new development or modifications to existing development; and
d) Access to sustainable modes of travel as well as infrastructure to support the electrification of private and public vehicles.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Section 3.2.7 be amended by adding clause e) as follows:
3.2 7) To reduce greenhouse gas emissions through land-use, transportation and energy planning consistent with Council-approved greenhouse gas reduction
targets, intensification will be reported on as part of the Climate Change Master Plan’s annual status updates considering the following objectives:
a) Alignment with local energy utilities to help control the cost of distribution, facilitate on-site generation and support local distributed energy;
b) Energy efficient built forms and proximity to a mix of land uses;
c) Maximize the energy and emission reduction performance of new development or modifications to existing development; and
d) Access to sustainable modes of travel as well as infrastructure to support the electrification of private and public vehicles.
e) Alignment of intensification targets with progress towards targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
——————————————————-
MOTION 2 – Contribution of development in vacant greenfields inside the pre-2021 urban boundary to GHG emission reduction
WHEREAS prior urban expansions have added lands to the urban area of Ottawa;
WHEREAS the Vacant Urban Residential Land Survey provides a statement of the amount of urban residential that remains vacant annually;
WHEREAS the Growth Management strategy for this Official Plan has determined that this vacant land represents sufficient space to accommodate 66,300 dwelling units of various types;
WHEREAS apartment units represent only 10% of this number; WHEREAS these lands are located in the Suburban transect;
WHEREAS Policy 5.4.4.1 calls for greenfield development in the Suburban Transect to contribute to the evolution towards 15- minute neighbourhoods to the extent possible;
WHEREAS Policy 5.4.4.2 calls for net residential densities within secondary plan areas of a minimum of 36 units per net hectare and permit density increases through intensification and accessory dwelling units;
WHEREAS the density target for intensification in the suburban transect is 40 to 60 units per net hectare;
WHEREAS it is more efficient and economical to build to the desired built form initially than to subsequently retrofit to the desired built form after the fact;
LET IT BE RESOLVED that density target of 40 to 60 units per net hectare is adopted for residential development in vacant greenfields inside the pre-2021 urban boundary.
—————————-
MOTION 3 – APPLICATION OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND GREEN STANDARDS
WHEREAS Council declared a climate emergency in April 24, 2019
WHEREAS Council approved the Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP) in January 2020 and the Energy Evolution (EE) Strategy in October 2020.
Whereas Section 1.1 of the Official plan states that Ottawa’s growth will need to align with Council approved community and corporate greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and take steps to adapt to a changing climate. These targets commit Ottawa to 100% reduction in GHG from 2012 baseline by 2050, with 68% reduction in community emissions by 2030.
WHEREAS Buildings are the largest energy consumer in Ottawa and account for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve 68% reduction in community emissions by 2030, the Energy Evolution’s approved target for new buildings is 100% of new homes are net zero emissions by 2030.
WHEREAS Section 2.2.3 2) of the official plan provides sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives for developments that include a target of net zero emission homes by 2030 (note the 100% target is lacking).
WHEREAS the mechanism for implementing “sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives” in the official plan is the High – Performance Development Standard (HPDS). The HPDS is defined in Section 13 of the Official plan as: Sets performance targets for new construction to improve air and water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the natural environment. Some of these targets can be directly achieved by incorporating sustainable and resilient design features into the plans and drawings submitted as part of the site plan approval process.
WHEREAS the requirement for HPDS is established in the Site Planning Control By-Law. Section 11.1 2) of the Official Plan identifies the classes of buildings
which will be exempt from Site Planning Control and thus HPDS. These exemptions are given in Section 11.1. 2) a):
a) Development proposals for Low-rise residential or mixed-use buildings that fulfill the intensification objectives of the Growth Management Framework may be exempt from Site Plan Control or shall have reduced submission requirements and a simplified site plan process subject to meeting defined criteria in order to streamline the process for, and lower the costs of intensification;
WHEREAS The Official Plan does not provide guidance on the intensification objective thresholds to use for exempting specific low-rise or mixed use developments from Site Plan Control. It only gives intensification targets by transect. Also, exemption will be based only on intensification objectives; sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives will not be considered.
WHEREAS exempting low-rise or mixed use developments from Site Plan Control and HPDS means that the majority of the 92,000 new infill dwellings built within the greenbelt, including virtually all of the 49,000 dwellings build in neighbourhoods, will not be required to meet sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives. Most of the new housing in the rural areas is expected to be single family dwellings; thus it also is unlikely to have requirements for sustainability and resilient site building design.
WHEREAS expansion of existing buildings is included in the definition of intensification (see section 2.2.1 d)), there are no sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives in the Official Plan for the expansion or conversion of existing buildings.
WHEREAS the City may be at risk of not achieving its overall GHG target or its specific target of all new builds being net zero by 2030 because the sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives for developments in section 2.2.2.3) of the official plan do not cover a large proportion of the small infill development, small mixed used buildings or the expansion and conversion of existing buildings.
BE IT RESOLVED that section 11.1.2) of the Official Plan provide guidance on the intensification objective thresholds and criteria as well as the procedural and submission requirements for low-rise residential and mixed-use buildings that will be used to a) exempt specific developments from Site Plan Control; and b) reduced submission requirements for specific developments and have a simplified site plan process subject for them.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new section 5) be added to Section 11.1 of the Official Plan to provide guidance on how the sustainable and resilient site and building design objectives given in section 2.2.2.3) will be met for developments that are not covered by the High Performance Standards for both 1) low rise residential and mixed use developments exempt from Site Planning Control and 2) expansion or conversion of existing buildings.
—————————-
MOTION 4 – MAKE CLIMATE RISK INFORMATION PUBLIC AND PRIORITIZE CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN THE OFFICIAL PLAN
WHEREAS through the climate emergency declaration of April 24, 2019, Council directed staff to complete a vulnerability assessment and develop a climate resiliency strategy to reduce the impact of a changing climate.
WHEREAS a climate vulnerability assessment will identify climate risks from a range of climate hazards (such as heat waves, flooding, ice storms and other severe weather). It also examines risks on health and safety, infrastructure, buildings, the economy and the environment. It will identify where the city is vulnerable, who will be affected and how.
WHEREAS the climate vulnerability assessment will guide the development of a resilience strategy. The aim of the long-term climate resilience strategy is to mitigate climate risks and impacts and to build the capacity of social, economic and environmental systems to adapt and thrive under evolving climate conditions. The strategy will be developed to align and integrate with programs such as hazard mitigation, health vulnerability plan and comprehensive asset management.
WHEREAS the climate vulnerability assessment was intended to be done by end of 2020 it has been delayed and will not be completed until March – April 2022. The anticipated completion date for the Climate Resilience Strategy is now Q1 or Q2 of 2023.
WHEREAS the City has been updating technical data and mapping of projected climate impacts as part of the vulnerability assessment. This includes heat island effect mapping, flood plain mapping and community risk profiles to better understand and reduce risks from riverine and urban (basement and overland flooding). Although critical mapping for flooding has been completed it has not been released publically.
WHEREAS a recent report by the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, a multidisciplinary government think-tank, found that the impacts on infrastructure (roads, water/sewer pipes, power and communication systems, public transit) from climate are already happening and will become both serious and costly over the next thirty years if preventative measures are not prioritized and started
immediately. The report also found that many developers and residents are unaware of the impacts and costs of climate on their properties because of the absence of accurate, up-to-date and publically available data. (For details see https://climatechoices.ca/reports/under-water/).
BE IT RESOLVED THAT a new section 10.1.4 is added to the official plan requiring the updated and detailed flood plain mapping as well as the completed vulnerability assessment (with accompanying technical data) to be released to the public before the Official Plan is in force.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the official plan provides guidance requiring an assessment of climate risks and vulnerabilities for all master plans, and other plans affected by climate. This would apply to infrastructure, transportation and asset management master planning as well as health, housing and emergency preparedness plans and others. The guidance would require that the completed Risk Assessment and Resilience Strategy are used to assess the risks, vulnerabilities and costs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the official plan provides guidance requiring that climate risks and vulnerabilities are included in the environmental assessments of capital projects.