On June 23, representatives from DRHBA will be meeting with Whitby staff to discuss the proposed Whitby Green Standards.

A special council meeting has been called for July 20, in which staff are asking council to ratify the program.

The Durham Region Home Builders' Association has strenuously objected to implementing the Whitby Green Standards in its current form, as it mandates building above and beyond the Ontario Building Code and the Planning Act.

DRHBA sent separate letters to the committee and to council on May 11 outlining our concerns.  A follow up letter was sent on May 29, accompanied by a legal opinion from Leo Longo, a prominent municipal law attorney.  To date, DRHBA has received no response from the WGS committee addressing the Association's technical and legal concerns.

As part of the Whitby Green Standards, builders and developers will be required to follow two checklists -  Plan of Subdivision Checklist and Site Plan Checklist.  The WGS committee is requesting that Tier 1 criteria be made mandatory, and in following years to make each of the additional three tiers mandatory as well.

It should be noted that while there have been three stakeholder sessions, the specific criteria were not released until April 15, and there has been no discussion with the building and development industry on the criteria.

 If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Stacey at s.hawkins@drhba.com.