GREEN DIRECTIONS VAUGHAN IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE 2011- FEATURED PROJECTS
Goal Area 1: Vaughan District Energy feasibility study
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Target Completion: Early 2011
A key component of Green Directions Vaughan is that the City consider strategies to reduce
energy use on a community basis by applying measures such as district energy systems. District
energy systems create a centralized location for residential/ commercial heating and cooling
systems. The plan also indicates that the City evaluate all major development areas for the
potential of this type of system, and that, specifically, a feasibility study be undertaken for the
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
On May 4, 2010, the Vaughan Holdings Inc. Board of Directors ratified the retention of a
consultant to conduct the Vaughan District Energy Feasibility Study. The study involved
examining the potential for a district energy system in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and a
examination of futher opportunities within the City. The study reviewed potential ownership and
operating models, as well as potential implementation plans.
District energy systems reduce the production of greenhouse gases, especially with the use of
combined heat and power systems. They are also an effective economic development tool.
Building owners can potentially gain a cheaper means of commercial heating and cooling, lower
capital costs, and more usable floor space compared to traditional mechanical systems. These
eco-friendly systems can also provide a municipalities with a competitive edge when it comes to
attracting new investment.
Goal Area 2L Sustainability guidelines for development projects
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Project Initiation: Early 2010
Target Completion: Late 2011
The City of Vaughan's new eco-friendly City Hall opened in 2011.
In order to create a liveable city, efforts must be made to create sustainability guidelines for
municipal development projects. According to Green Directions Vaughan, these guidelines will
establish an evaluation criteria that can be applied to such areas as: development
form/sustainable sites, resource efficiency, transportation, and greenspace and wildlife.
The City of Vaughan is partnering with the City of Brampton, the Town of Richmond Hill, with
support from the Federation for Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund, to conduct a
community-based study, and develop sustainability guidelines for new development and
redevelopment projects.
In the first phase, recommendations for sustainability guidelines were developed. These
guidelines explore performance measures in areas such as building energy efficiency, passive
energy conservation, water efficiency, local heat island mitigation, and low-impact development
standards. There is a specific focus regarding performance indicators to ensure reductions in
energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
In the second phase, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by the City of Brampton on
December 14, 2011 for the hiring of a consultant for measuring the sustainability performance of
new development in Brampton, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.
The project is expected to reduce the ecological impact of new development and redevelopment
projects, with an emphasis on decreasing energy consumption and GHG emissions for new
developments in these municipalities.
Goal Area 3: Implementation of the pedestrian and bicycle master plan
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Project Initiation: Late 2009
Target Completion: Ongoing
Developing and sustaining a network of sidewalks that supports all modes of nonvehicular transportation is an objective of Green Directions. Through the
implementation of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, the City of Vaughan is
committed to making choices that will reduce automobile dependency and transitrelated greenhouse gas emissions, while providing individual health benefits.
The installation of Bicycle Route signage has begun and 45 kms of bike routes were
signed by spring 2011. The Teston Road multi-use path was completed in the fall of
2010.
York Region has approved joint funding for additional bike route signage (22.7 kms)
and bike lanes (12.2 kms) to be implemented over the next year.
Development/Transportation Engineering staff are in the process of establishing a
Vaughan Cycling Forum to ensure that cycling facilities in the city are developed with
input from local cyclists.
Additionally, Vaughan is contributing funding to, and participating in the Technical
Steering Committee for the new Ontario Traffic Manual for Bicycle Facilities. The
consultant has been selected and it is anticipated that the initial draft manual will be
published in early 2012.
Goal Area 4: Attract and Retain Green Business
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Project Initiation: Early 2010
Target Completion: Late 2010
Green Directions encourages the establishment of green
businesses in the City of Vaughan and the use of
sustainable business practices.
One of the recommendations emerging from the City's
Employment Sector Strategy Study was that
environmentally-friendly industries be targeted for attraction
based on Vaughan’s economic strength in manufacturing
and industry.
Green Directions provides for the development of a business
attraction and retention strategy to encourage
environmentally-friendly businesses and industries to set up
in Vaughan with a completion timeline of 2014. The
Employment Sectors Strategy Study contains
recommendations in this regard for use in the City's new
Official Plan and the Economic Development Strategy.
The preparation of the Economic Development Strategy is
now completed. It states that the City undertake projects
focused on environmental sustainability and green design,
with the ultimate goal of enhancing local technical capacity
and industry development in the green building sector.
Goal area 5:Employee education strategy
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Project initiation: Early 2010
Target Completion: mid-2011
Sharing sustainable best practices among City staff and the greater community is one
component of the City's goal of being a leader on sustainability issues. The City is
committed to developing an awareness strategy to familiarize staff with the components
of Green Directions and expanding it into an ongoing education program.
A consultative process was employed to engage staff in the development of the
Employee Education Strategy through a combination of new and existing programs and
campaigns. The initiatives provide educational materials and challenge individuals to
establish new eco-friendly behaviours. Although the goal of the strategy is to foster
more eco-friendly behaviour in the workplace, it can ultimately lead to greener lifestyle
choices for employees at home as well.
The Employee Education Strategy will be a catalyst to establish a corporate culture of
sustainability among City staff and lead to successful implementation of Green
Directions Vaughan.
Goal Area 6:implement the plan throughout the city
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Project Initiation: 2009
Target Completion: Ongoing
A large portion of the success of Green Directions will depend on the internal City
operations and functions that support the plan. Vaughan is commited to a series of
ongoing administrative and monitoring actions to ensure Green Directions is fully
integrated into the City's day-to-day operations, including the hiring and the retention of
staff with the necessary expertise in environmental and sustainability standards and
practices.
The City is also dedicated to making required organizational and staffing adjustments
that support the implementation of Green Directions, and the preparation of an annual
report to Council on the status of existing programs, accomplishments, and new
initiatives for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the plan.