The Halton Hills Green Development Standard (GDS) are Halton Hills’ sustainable design and performance requirements for new developments since 2010. Version 3 is in effect since 2021 for new planning applications. GDS v3 consists of 12 measures, that are organized into 5 categories: Energy & Water, Ecology, Resiliency, Transportation, Innovation. Each measure has points associated with it. To be compliant with GDS v3, all new developments and major additions that submit a rezoning, subdivision, or site plan control application must demonstrate achievement of at least 20 points.
The Green Development Standard (GDS) was first developed in 2010 with updates in 2014 and most recently in 2021. The Green Development Standard v3 (GDS v3) applies to all applicable to all developments and major additions subject to an Official Plan and/or Zoning By-law Amendment, Draft Plan of Subdivision, or Site Plan Control approval as of June 15, 2021.
GDS v3 builds on the foundation of previous green development standards and puts increased weight on measures that reduce greenhouse gases of new development in the community. The purposes of the GDS v3 are:
- To further elevate the sustainability performances of new developments in our community.
- To ensure alignment with current best practices in sustainable building and development.
- To support community-wide net-zero carbon emissions goals identified in the Town’s Emergency Declaration approved in 2019.
Resources
- Climate Change Resiliency Checklist
- Energy and Water Declaration Letter Template
- Water Use Reduction Calculator
- Council Report PD-2021-0024
- Green Development Standards Background Report
In December 2021, the Town of Halton Hills hosted a training webinar for developers on Version 3 of the Halton Hills Green Development Standards. This webinar included a walkthrough of compliance pathways for each of the sections of GDS v3 as well as presentations by industry experts on key GDS aspects. The webinar was developed and hosted with financial support from The Atmospheric Fund. Participants included:
- Michael Dean, Manager of Climate Change with the Town of Halton Hills,
- Brandon Law, Technical Director & Associate Principal with RWDI,
- John Rathbone, President of Rathco ENG, and
- Meg Olson, Water Resources Engineer with Vanguard Water Resources