Town of Perth Sustainable Neighbourhood Development Plan Pilot Project

The Town of Perth will develop a sustainable neighbourhood of 30 to 50 mixed housing units that demonstrates energy and water efficiency, pedestrian-oriented access to amenities, community space and stormwater management. A portion of the site, a 2.3 acre brownfield owned by the Town, is contaminated with fuel and oil. Currently the contaminated soil is being removed and replaced with clean fill. In this planning study, the Town will proceed to the next stages of development, including reviewing and analyzing sustainable design processes; establishing criteria and certification standards; determining sustainable elements of interest to potential buyers; establishing key indicators and associated criteria for sustainable design features; creating a draft site plan; and developing design criteria, ownership options, planning tools and community communications. When compared to conventional development, the buildings and landscaping in the sustainable neighbourhood are expected to achieve overall reductions of 40 percent in water use, 20 percent in wastewater, 40 percent in energy use, 30 percent in greenhouse gas emissions and 60 percent in stormwater runoff. If the project is successful, the Town will likely implement policies to encourage green development in relation to future projects.