Passive House Standard - Municipal Code Chapter review - by Councillor James Pasternak, seconded by Councillor Mike Layton

As our City continues to grow, Toronto's public officials and staff must always be on the lookout for innovative, efficient and climate-aware techniques, especially within the land development industry. Founded in 2013, Passive House Canada is a national non-profit professional association advocating for the Passive House high-performance building standard. The standard is recognized internationally as the proven best way to build for comfort, affordability and energy efficiency of residential, institutional and commercial buildings, through all stages of design, construction, and liveability. While conventional buildings consume up to 40 percent of global energy use and contribute up to 30 percent of annual global Green House Gases emissions, buildings that adhere to the Passive House standard can consume up to 90 percent less heating and cooling energy than conventional structures. The Passive House high performance building standard can be then applied to almost any type of building design or type. New development that adheres to these progressive and green standards, should be celebrated and replicated. However, sometimes municipal policies can become an impediment to getting these important projects materialized.