Focus On Environmental Sustainability (2009)
The City of Kingston, Utilities Kingston and community partners like FOCUS Kingston (the group that helps define the City's strategic direction) and the Kingston Environmental Advisory Forum (KEAF) are strongly committed to the goal of making Kingston Canada's most sustainable City.
While there are still mountains to be moved in order to reach this goal — including the development of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan being led by FOCUS Kingston — this initial progress report outlines a number of environmentally-related City initiatives aimed at making that goal a reality.
Amongst Kingston's recent environmentally-related milestones:
- Joining the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners in Climate Protection program and establishing green house gas inventories and reduction targets for both municipal operations and the community.
- Passing a council motion requiring LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for all new municipal construction — a first in the Province.
- Initiating a Brownfields Community Improvement Plan. New development on Block D has benefitted from this plan.
- Honing an integrated waste management plan including a multi-stream recycling program — and a source-separated Green Bin program coming this spring — aimed at diverting 65 per cent of the City's waste from landfill by 2012.
- Constructing the Kingston Protocol encouraging sustainable procurement at the inaugural SEE Green Summit, a meeting of Kingston community businesses and major employers.
- The Ravensview Sewage Treatment Plant will open this spring, six months ahead of schedule.
- The City continues to separate sewers to reduce combined sewer overflows where appropriate based on an evaluation of the combined sewer network completed in 2006.
- Rebuilding infrastructure to protect Kingston waterways as part of the City's annual capital budget.
- The City is completing a new Official Plan for the City, promoting sustainability as an overall theme and consolidating a number of recently-completed studies. These studies address growth management, long-term transportation planning needs, the City's natural heritage, regional groundwater and agricultural resources.
The Kingston community can be proud of the strides it is making in the realm of environmental sustainability. The efforts outlined in Focus on Environmental Sustainability demonstrate Kingstonians are motivated to pursue ongoing initiatives and build partnerships to protect our lands, air and waterways for today and for our future.
— Harvey Rosen, Mayor
The scope and variety of the other specific initiatives outlined in this report demonstrate that environmentally friendly thinking is already well-entrenched in our City.
Building the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan
The City's environmental efforts address one aspect of the sustainability model. This year FOCUS Kingston will continue to develop Kingston's Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) to serve as a guide to move Kingston even further toward economic, environmental, social and cultural sustainability.
TIMELINE
|
PROJECT |
DATE |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Integrated Community Sustainability Plan |
under development |
|
|
New Official Plan |
2009 |
|
|
Idling By-law |
2008 |
|
|
Police HQ - Kingston's first LEED® building |
2007 |
|
|
Critical Evaluation of Kingston's Combined Sewers |
2006 |
|
|
Brownfields Community Improvement Plan |
2005 |
|
|
Utilities Crossing Completed |
2004 |
|
|
First Green House Gas Inventory |
2002 |
|
|
Joined FCM Partners in Climate Protection Program |
2001 |
|
|
KEAF Created |
2000 |
|
|
Belle Park Leachate Control |
1997 |
|
|
Pollution Control Plan for Sewers |
1992 |
|
|
KARC Created |
1989 |
|
|
Ravensview Sewage Treatment Plant |
1957 |
|
