Tay Valley Township Council…

Tay Valley Township Council supports enhanced development standards at the lot level. The Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS) includes policy direction that planning authorities shall plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of a changing climate, including through approaches that promote green infrastructure, low impact development, and active transportation. The Township supports this direction and knows that enhanced development standards at the lot level are an important tool to achieve these goals.

1. What is your interest in and/or experience with the implementation of enhanced development standards at the lot level (outside of buildings)?
As a municipal staff member, planner, or member of the public?

Tay Valley Township planners (and planners for North Burgess Township before amalgamation), the ten lake associations in the Township, and members of the public have close to 40 years of experience with implementation of enhanced development standards at the lot level. These standards are part of Site Plan Control Agreements and are most often related to protecting the water quality of the 32 lakes and 10 major rivers in the Township to maintain the economic vitality and environmental health of the waterbodies.

2. In your experience, are enhanced development standards applied consistently across municipalities? Please provide examples where possible.

Yes all the municipalities in Lanark County have Site Plan Control Agreement standards to retain vegetation on properties within 30m of a waterbody. This is also true for surrounding counties e.g., Frontenac County and Leeds and Grenville.

3. What types of standards, should municipalities be allowed to apply outside of buildings and how do these requirements maintain the health and safety of the site if at all?

Enhanced development standards at the lot level are important tools for maintaining health through mitigating climate change by maintaining vegetation. The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) has stated, “The climate crisis is the greatest health crisis of our time”.

Enhanced development standards at the lot level are even more important for increasing resiliency to adapt to climate change. Wildfire hazards can be reduced by wildfire hazard site plans that identify appropriate setbacks and types of vegetation. Flooding on site and off site can be reduced through permeable paving, green roofs, and bioswales. Drought affecting wells can be reduced by retaining stormwater and releasing it slowly rather than piping it away.

4. Do you / your organization have information about the short- and long-term costs of enhanced development standards at the lot level?

It is cheaper to use nature’s green infrastructure than to construct grey infrastructure (concrete, pipes, etc.). This costing has been demonstrated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Assets Initiative of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and others.

5. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions relating to site plan control or other related subjects?

When we build new houses we need to meet a triple bottom line: affordability for residents (through heating that does not use natural gas or oil and wildfire standards for the area outside the dwelling); environmental protection through the use of green development standards; and social/mental health support that has been demonstrated by retaining natural vegetation.