1. What is your interest in…

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

I appreciate the addition of enhanced development standards, and I applaud our municipalities for balancing the desires of developers with that of the community’s and environment’s health and wellbeing. To claim that this legislation will both prohibit enhanced development standards such as green infrastructure and native plantings, while continuing to ensure health and safety, is non-sensical and furthermore, in opposition to scientific findings I am a member of the public.

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

No, enhanced development standards are not applied consistently across municipalities because not all municipalities are equal, nor the same. It makes sense for larger municipalities to push for these standards, thus paving a path for smaller municipalities to emulate.

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?

With increasingly extreme climatic events, it is imperative for our health and safety to ensure that development is tempered with regulations that uphold enhanced development standards for stormwater management such as bioswales, rainwater gardens, infiltration chambers, and green roofs. In addition to storm water management and flood control, this is an effective way to counter the heat island effect, which has been repeatedly shown to cause negative health effects (Arnfield, 2003; Ulpiani, 2021; Keith & Meerow, 2022; Forkes & Penny, 2010). It is also important, for both human and ecological health, to ensure development includes biodiverse native species that support food webs, sequester carbon, and infiltrate stormwater surface runoff. This question is biased in its formulation, ‘if at all’ is counter to myriad studies showing that enhanced development standards do improve human health and safety from shortened hospital stays to decreased crime (Kondo et al., 2025; Donovan & Prestemon, 2012; Donovan, Butry, Michael, et al., 2013; Fisher & Nasar, 1992; Kuo, 2001; Kuo & Sullivan, 2001; Maas et al., 2009; Michael, Hull, & Zahm, 2001; Mitchell & Popham, 2008; Nasar, Fisher, & Grannis, 1993; Taylor & Kuo, 2009).

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

Through my previous job, I would compile cost estimates for short- and long-term costs of enhanced development standards at the lot level. I was also privy to the profits enjoyed by landowners of successfully implemented developments (that included these same enhanced development standards).

5. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions relating to site plan control or other related subjects?
Control of site plan approvals should remain with the municipality, as it is the municipality who understands the needs and desires of their communities. These decisions should not be made by the province. Cities and developers should come to the table to balance interests (which is exactly what already takes place between landowners, municipal employees, and their consulting teams). It is short sighted and irresponsible to remove these health and safety standards in a time of rapid and unpredictable climate change.

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Donovan, G. H., & Prestemon, J. P. (2012). The effect of trees on crime in Portland, Oregon. Environment and Behavior, 44(1), 3–30.

Fisher, B. S., & Nasar, J. L. (1992). Fear of crime in relation to three exterior site features: Prospect, refuge, and escape. Environment and Behavior, 24(1), 35–65.

Forkes, J., and Penny, J., (2010). Mitigating urban heat in Canada: Urban Heat Island Summit, 2010. May 3rd, 2010, St. Lawrence Hall, Toronto. Clean Air Partnership.

Keith, L.; Meerow, S. Planning for Urban Heat Resilience; PAS Report 600; American Planning Association: Chicago, IL, USA, 2022; p. 101. Available online: https://planning-org-uploaded-media.s3.amazonaws.com/publication/downlo… (accessed on 11 March 2022).

Kondo, M. C., Low, S. C., Henning, J., & Branas, C. C. (2015). The Impact of Green Stormwater Infrastructure Installation on Surrounding Health and Safety. American Journal of Public Health, 105(3), e114–e121. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302314

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Kuo, F. E., & Sullivan, W. C. (2001). Aggression and violence in the inner city: Effects of environment via mental fatigue. Environment and Behavior, 33(4), 543–571.

Maas, J., Verheij, R. A., de Vries, S., Spreeuwenberg, P., Schellevis, F. G., & Groenewegen, P. P. (2009). Morbidity is related to a green living environment. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 63(12), 967–973.

Michael, S. E., Hull, R. B., & Zahm, D. L. (2001). Environmental factors influencing auto burglary: A case study. Environment and Behavior, 33(3), 368–388.

Mitchell, R., & Popham, F. (2008). Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: An observational population study. The Lancet, 372(9650), 1655–1660.

Nasar, J. L., Fisher, B., & Grannis, M. (1993). Proximate physical cues to fear of crime. Landscape and Urban Planning, 26(1–4), 161–178.

Taylor, A. F., & Kuo, F. E. (2009). Children with attention deficits concentrate better after a walk in the park. Journal of Attention Disorders, 12(5), 402–409.

Ulpiani, G. On the linkage between urban heat island and urban pollution island: Three-decade literature review towards a conceptual framework. Sci. Total Environ. 2021, 751, 141727.