Green Development Program

The Green Development Program is a proposed voluntary recognition and capacity building program that aims to celebrate leadership in efficient, resilient, and sustainable residential development projects across Grey, Dufferin, and Wellington Counties.

As a collaborative initiative between three Counties, the program will create a consistent, supportive framework for new residential construction, with a focus on projects of 10 or more units. The program consists of three main parts:

1. The Metrics – Recognizing the diversity of development projects, the framework consists of a flexible menu of 18 possible development features or ‘Metrics’ that applicants may choose to incorporate into their project.
2. Recognition – For each Metric incorporated, the project achieves a certain number of points. Based on their total number of points, the project would be recognized at a bronze, silver, or gold level.
3. Capacity Building –Knowledge, best practices, case studies, resources, and training opportunities will be shared with the construction and development industry to overcome local barriers to advancing more efficient, resilient construction.

The Green Development Program provides a range of economic, social, and environmental benefits. By supporting more efficient buildings and developments, they are a cost-effective policy tool that will benefit residents in the future.

Economic Benefits: 

• Making buildings more affordable to heat and cool

• Reduced municipal infrastructure costs

• Increased property values

• Longer lasting building stock

• Future-ready workforce development

Social Benefits: 

• Improved air quality

• Promoting healthier and more active lifestyles

• Increased access to green space

• More affordable, mixed use housing development

Environmental Benefits: 

• Reduced GHG pollution - In Canada, we rely heavily on fossil fuels to heat our buildings and power our vehicles. This program aims to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, which creates greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and contributes to climate change.

• Better water management

• Increased green space and biodiversity

• More resilience to climate change - Municipalities are experiencing increasing climate impacts such as higher temperatures, more severe weather events, threats to agriculture and health. ​GDS can help ensure new buildings are more resilient to these impacts to help keep residents safe.

The Planning Act provides a framework and legislative authority for municipalities to engage in land-use planning by creating Official Plans, Zoning By-laws, and Community Improvement Plans. Building Performance Programs may be enabled by Official Plans and implemented through draft plan of subdivision, site plan and permitting processes.

To date, 15 lower or single-tier municipalities have implemented a green development standard (GDS) in Ontario. There are also several municipalities currently developing such standards, including the Region of Waterloo, which is similar to the Tri-Counties as another upper-tier municipal government. The map below shows the municipalities in Ontario that have implemented or are in the process of implementing these types of standards.

Map of Ontario municipalities that have development standards in effect or in development (Region of Waterloo, 2024)

The program is initially considering new residential (10 units or larger) development projects. There would be no changes to existing buildings or neighbourhoods.

Working with Grey and Wellington Counties will create a standardized process for developers to follow in the whole region. Our work will be informed by development performance programs that have been implemented elsewhere, but customized to reflect the unique needs of this region. The project will include training and support to transition towards future-ready development and attract the needed workforce and industries.

• March – April 2024: Building awareness of the program among staff, industry, and the general public.

• May – June 2024: Seeking input from staff, developers, and other stakeholders on what should be considered.

• August 2024 – February 2025: Creating and refining draft of Green Development Program.

• March 2025 – September 2025: Creating tools to support the implementation of Green Development Program.

• March 2025 – March 2027: Supporting the implementation of the Green Development Program with a grant-funded staff position.

Learn more about similar programs by reading this Municipal Green Development Standards briefing note from the Clean Air Partnership.