Windmill Development Group’s Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan for Guelph’s Baker District

The Baker District redevelopment sustainable neighbourhood action plan (SNAP) is a partnership between the City of Guelph and Windmill Development Group that aims to transform three acres of an existing parking lot and properties fronting the north end of Wyndham Street. The City’s Downtown Secondary Plan has long envisioned the revitalization of this area, which will include a new central library, residential space, commercial/institutional space, public parking and an urban square. The Baker District will be redeveloped as a One Planet Living (OPL) community. OPL is a planning and sustainability framework that aims to reduce the impact of how communities are designed, built and lived in so that resource consumption is equal to the regenerative capacity of the Earth. Windmill will augment the OPL approach with ecological footprinting. By benchmarking local resource consumption Windmill can set measurable, evidence-based targets align with OPL principles and support long-term monitoring and verification. Windmill will also conduct a policy review followed by a series of meetings with stakeholders to set goals, define a strategy and validate a direction. These actions along with the ecological footprinting results will lead to the development of design strategies focused on carbon neutrality and sustainable water, waste and transportation. Windmill will own and develop the residential and commercial components of the project and will partner with the City to develop the public components (i.e., library, parking and public space). The City will support the development of the site by completing technical studies, environmental site preparation and upgrades to off-site infrastructure. The City will also consider whether support for this redevelopment project is available through the Downtown Guelph Community Improvement Plan grant and loan programs. The final SNAP will be submitted to OPL for endorsement and to the City of Guelph for council adoption. Innovative aspects: • Ecological footprinting approach to develop baseline indicators and inform SNAP targets • Unique private/public partnership—Windmill will leverage the City of Guelph’s extensive community stakeholder network to encourage broad participation in the planning process and ensure that it aligns with the City’s priorities • Unique methodology—OPL begins with principles, not prescribed designs, fostering dialogue about design and encouraging innovation across disciplines and stakeholders Replicability: • Creates a mutually beneficial model for cross-sector cooperation, which is increasingly important for achieving sustainability goals • Provides a roadmap for net-zero-ready developments • Demonstrates how far a development project can go towards achieving One Planet Living • Incorporates ecological footprinting into planning (Project description from original funding application)