Theme EN 5: Land Use and Built Environment(21)

Theme Statement

Kingston adopts land use and built environment measures that strategically consider location, use, reuse and extent of natural areas, community spaces, employment lands, commercial areas and brownfield sites while making efficient use of land, infrastructure, and resources.

Indicators

Mix of Land Use (Proportion of land in different uses: agriculture, commercial, industrial, parks, residential, vacant, roads, other).
Dwelling Growth Location (Percentage of new residential units located within settlement areas).
Dwelling Unit Density (Dwelling units/ha of municipal land).²²

Goals

Reduce urban sprawl through promotion of compact development, increased density, mixed use development and restoration and appropriate reuse of brownfield sites.
Preserve and enhance existing rural areas within the City boundaries.
Plan residential developments to encourage walking, cycling and public transit and connectivity.
Be a leader in development and use of sustainable building standards for design, construction, and operation.²³
Maximize the use of existing building stock and building heritage.
Conserve and restore designated heritage properties and integrate them into the community through appropriate uses²⁴.

Actions

Action	Action Lead	Target	Status
Monitoring proposals for new developments	Kingston Field Naturalists	To encourage land use and built environment measures that consider the location, use, reuse, extent and protection of natural areas within the City boundaries.	Ongoing
Calvin Park Branch Library LEED Gold accredited, winner of the 2011 Citizens’ Choice Award for Liveable City Design the Calvin Park Branch serves as a model for sustainable civic architecture.	Kingston Frontenac Public Library		Ongoing
Urban Agriculture We landscape around our shop with edible plants. Passers-by who are hungry are encouraged to help themselves to the yield.	Living Rooms :: EcoLogical Living + Building	To shift conventional thinking about how we use urban landscape and about sustainable gardening.	Ongoing
Making Healthier & Eco-Conscious Building Supplies Available to the Kingston Area We carry and make available eco-conscious living products, low-impact building materials, non-toxic paints and wall coverings, ethically sourced flooring, countertops from recycled materials, natural and effective cleaners,healthy kitchen and bath products, and organic sleep systems.	Living Rooms :: EcoLogical Living + Building	To continue to make these products and more available to Kingston and to continue promoting eco-conscious living and building.	Ongoing
Off-grid Demonstration Facility The design of Wintergreen Studios was guided by sustainable building techniques and environmentally respectful practices that continue to guide our daily operations. The studio is a year-round wilderness education and retreat centre offering workshops and meeting facilities.	Wintergreen Studios	In 2011 we expect to educate over 1,000 visitors about straw bale construction and off-grid living.	Ongoing
Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) Is an internal (ASRTS School Team Working Group), and external (School Commuting Working Group — sub-group of Kingston Coalition for Active Transportation), a group of KFL&A Public Health staff, and members of the community.	KFL&A Public Health	To increase physical activity levels of elementary and secondary school students, families and staff by encouraging the use of active transportation to, from and at school, thereby establishing a foundation of lifelong physical activity.	Ongoing
Brownfield's Community Improvement Plan A plan to reduce brownfield properties in Kingston.	City of Kingston	General reduction in brownfield properties in Kingston.	4 brownfield properties remediated and redeveloped.
Municipal Green Building Program A policy that requires all new municipal buildings to be constructed to obtain Silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program to ensure minimized energy and water use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from facility operations.	City of Kingston	Minimum LEED Silver rating for all new municipal buildings.	2 buildings certified LEED Gold, 1 building certified LEED Silver and 3 other buildings have certification pending.

21 Issues related to Land Use are also described in detail under EN 5 Land Use and Built Environment, EC 4 Infrastructure, and SO 2 Health and Wellness.
22 For future consideration: Change ‘dwelling growth location’ measure to ‘dwelling growth inside and outside the urban growth boundary’. Currently, this measure requires additional research and time to report however and will track whether the OCP goals of directing growth inside the UGA is being met.
23 The City of Kingston Municipal Green Building Policy requires new municipal buildings to achieve a minimum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certification and a minimum energy efficiency level of 42 per cent, and all major retrofits to undertake a feasibility assessment to achieve LEED® certification and an energy efficiency level of 33 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code. The policy is part of the city’s Energy Management Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent (2000 baseline year) by 2014.
24 CU 2 History and Heritage defines goals and Perceived Issues related to Kingston’s built, cultural, and archaeological resources.