Departments > Planning & Development > Development Services Division > Green Initiatives > Green Buildings

The City is pursuing a policy of downtown and vacant commercial lot intensification, walkable neighbourhoods on former derelict harbour front industrial lands, residential intensification in the downtown, and increasing the overall population that can access employment and services within walking or convenient cycling and transit distance of home.

The City of Victoria has planning traditions which support many elements of urban sustainability, including:

• conserving built heritage
• building "complete communities" with a full range of land uses - from housing to heavy industry
• maintaining a pedestrian-friendly network of treed boulevards and walkways
• mixing land uses
• an overall built density that is amongst the highest of any Canadian city
• remediation and reuse of vacant commercial lots
• a strong downtown with efforts to balance jobs and residents
• a commitment to the "triple bottom line" with emphasis on social and environmental solutions
• support for alternative transportation modes with emphasis on cycling and transit
• support for strong neighbourhoods
• a balance of sports, arts and cultural facilities
• supporting regional smart growth objectives that will create a pedestrian and transit friendly metropolitan core for the region

The City is exploring ways to support and encourage sustainable development in both public and private buildings.

The City of Victoria has taken a leadership role through the development of a Civic Green Building Policy which requires all new construction of civic facilities to be LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver standard, with a goal of LEED® Gold.

The Burnside Gorge Community Centre was completed in 2007 and built to a LEED® Gold Standard.

• Green Building Policy for Public Buildings [PDF 126KB]

The City also created the framework for the award-winning Dockside Green Development to become the first LEED® platinum level community.

Currently the City is exploring a Green Building Policy for private development. To this end, the City commissioned Stantec Consulting to conduct a green building policy review entitled City of Victoria Sustainable Building Policy Review - Private Sector Development - [PDF 1.8MB]. This report provides an overview of current green building best practices, gives an overview of the current green building context in the region, and suggests key indicators that can form the basis for a comprehensive Green Building Policy.

On October 24, 2007 staff presented the Sustainable Building Policy Review in a report - [PDF 59KB] to Committee of the Whole. Council received the report for information and directed staff to consult the with the Advisory Design Panel, the Environment and Shoreline Advisory Committee, the development industry, and the Heritage Advisory Committee. Council also directed staff to develop recommendations and an implementation strategy for private development of green buildings.

On October 2, 2008 staff presented a report - [PDF 82KB] to Committee of the Whole with feedback from the aforementioned stakeholder groups, and a set of proposed green building guiding principles and strategies. Council approved the principles and strategies on October 9, 2008. Staff are currently working on the approved strategies and the development of policy initiatives.

• Committee of the Whole Report - October 2, 2008 - Green Building Policy: Private Sector Development - [PDF 82KB]
• Committee of the Whole Report - October 24, 2007 – Green Building Policy: Private Sector Development - [PDF 59KB]
• City of Victoria Sustainable Building Policy Review - Private Sector Development – Stantec Consulting - [PDF 1.8MB]

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