Vaughan, Ont., Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) has filed a legal application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the City of Toronto over the escalation of the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) performance measures.
RESCON is seeking a mandatory order that would enforce the Building Code Act and prohibit the city from imposing building regulations on planning applications because they are beyond the legal authority of the city.
RESCON agrees that the city has authority under the Planning Act over land-use planning matters and can impose site-specific controls over the development of land within city boundaries. However, we argue the manner of construction and construction standards are not subject to site plan control because those matters are already governed by the Ontario Building Code (OBC).
“The city is overstepping the scope of its planning authority by mandating technical building measures already covered in the OBC which have been progressively updated and grounded in research, building science, thorough consultation as well as cost-benefit analysis,” explains RESCON president Richard Lyall. “Individual municipalities do not have the authority to develop their own building regulations. The province moved away from this practice in 1975 when the OBC was established to unify the design and construction of buildings province-wide.”
Ontario homebuilders are among the most sustainable and are part of the solution to climate change. Municipalities are not technical standards development bodies and not well-equipped to deal with such regulations, which is why building codes are developed at the federal and provincial level. The actions of select municipalities are duplicating efforts taking place at upper-tier governments, slowing approvals and increasing costs to consumers.
RESCON is the province’s leading association of residential builders committed to providing leadership and fostering innovation in the industry.
