TORONTO, Jul 11, 2006 -- Canada NewsWire

 

At a special joint meeting last night, the Roundtable on the Environment and the Roundtable on a Beautiful City requested Toronto City Council to adopt the Toronto Green Development Standard 2006.

A recent report to both roundtables, Making a Sustainable City Happen: The Toronto Green Development Standard 2006, has proposed the adoption of enhanced targets for site and building design that address matters of environmental sustainability. It proposes an integrated set of targets, principles, and practices to guide the development of City-owned facilities and to encourage green development in the private sector.

"The City is taking a significant step towards a more sustainable urban design standard," said Mayor David Miller. "The Green Development Standard is particularly of use since it applies to both new building construction and existing building retrofit. This is another example of the different ways we are building a better city both literally and figuratively."

The Toronto Green Development Standard is a "made-in-Toronto" approach that was created from a review of City guidelines and targets, private rating systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Green Globes, and the experiences of cities from around the world. The Toronto Green Development Standard would be a voluntary program in the initial year of implementation, while further study and consultation is conducted.

"To create a strong and health community for tomorrow we need to embrace technologies and principles that will make the best use of our resources," said Deputy Mayor Pantalone, Chair of the Roundtable on Environment. "The Green Development Standard outlines how our community can address everything from water and air quality to green space through design practices."

"A clean and beautiful city can only be created through the leadership of our government and the will of the community," said Deputy Mayor Bussin, Chair of the Roundtable on a Beautiful City. "The City of Toronto should adopt the practices outlined in the report and begin pilot projects in our neighbourhoods."

The full report is available from the City's website at: http://www.toronto.ca/environment/greendevelopment.htm 

SOURCE: City of Toronto

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