Home developers oppose Toronto's green standard for new construction

Michael Lewis

Special to Ontario construction news

The Housing Council of Ontario (RESCON) is preparing a call for a new Toronto green standard that has no legal authority and violates provincial and national building codes, says RESCON president Richard Lyall.

“We are looking into the legal issue on this,” Lyall told Ontario Construction News. He said the Ontario Housing Board's outside counsel is “set to file a provincial court appeal in a few more weeks. We don't have a specific date, but we plan to continue.”

A lawyer for the outside firm did not respond to a request for comment.

“I think we have to pick a specific municipality,” said Lyall, of Ontario's urban and rural counties that have adopted or are developing green standards for new buildings.

“The plan is we're looking at Toronto. My understanding is that this is new evidence, but something was tried to be done.” The Ontario Building Code Act is a presumptive and uniform law that “must be followed.”

A city spokeswoman declined to comment further, saying officials are “not aware of any legal action against the City of Toronto regarding the Green Standard.”

According to Lyall, RESCON, which includes most of the province's housing estates; builders, questions arise as to whether individual municipalities have the legislative authority to override code conditions to approve building permits. “We would like to see the building code enforced or the law changed.

“You have different municipalities in different directions, and a lot of this stuff doesn't take into account our housing shortage and the impact it has on what we produce.”

He added that Green Standard regulations, which require developers to use certain suppliers, limit competition, discourage construction and increase development costs.

“It doesn't mean we're not going to do anything, but we have to prioritize some things right now,” Lyall said as municipalities rush to implement green development standards with vague deadlines.

RESCON said in a statement last year that the provincial building code takes precedence over all other legislation affecting the built form and technical details of construction, including “municipal by-laws”.

Planning Act and site plan control can be used by municipalities to regulate the appearance and character of a building, but cannot be used to set requirements for the physical construction of a building or materials.

“This is clearly stated in the instructions for monitoring the site plan of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Communal Affairs,” the report says.

National and provincial building codes are already working to make homes greener and more energy efficient, the report said, adding that the federal emissions reduction plan requires homes to use 61 percent less energy by 2025 and 65 percent less energy by 2030.

RESCON's potential challenge to Toronto's Green Standard came after city council's infrastructure and environment committee confirmed late last month that it supports a “new focus and coordinated approach to climate resilience.”

The committee reviewed an update report on progress toward net zero by 2040, one of North America's most ambitious goals, which shows that emissions by 2021 will be 41 percent below 1990 levels.

The council has set targets for a 45 percent reduction by 2025 and a 65 percent reduction by 2030. The report found that the city's emissions controls are above all scenarios needed to meet targets, leaving an “emissions gap”.

“If the city, other levels of government, residents and businesses do not support and invest in transformative efforts, the city's net zero goal is at risk,” the report said.

It notes that natural gas for heating buildings accounts for more than half of the city's greenhouse gas emissions, and the accelerated timeline calls for any new construction development to be net zero by 2028.

Urban infrastructure is needed to meet net zero requirements.

The TGS has been in effect since 2010, with the latest version setting energy and emissions limits for new buildings that are 25% to 30% above the minimum requirements of the Ontario Building Code.

Developers who build to higher standards may receive partial development fee discounts.

The report found that rebate receipts had declined in part due to market conditions, and in response, TGS launched a 2024 study to look at the energy and emissions and construction costs of buildings.

Toronto says its Green Standard will help new developments reduce emissions by 15,000 CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents) per year.