Tell Hamilton council members to make new housing green!

two heat pumps against a wall

Right now, we have an opportunity to stop a major source of climate pollution in Hamilton. As you read this, Hamilton City Council is developing “Green Development Standards” which can set pollution limits for new buildings.

If the council gets this right, they can ensure new buildings in Hamilton don’t run on “natural” gas, a fossil fuel. With Hamilton planning to build nearly 50,000 new homes by 2031, this would prevent a big increase in the city’s emissions.

And it’s very doable. There is a clean and energy efficient alternative to gas furnaces that can do everything gas heaters can, and more! Not only are electric heat pumps way less polluting, they decrease monthly energy bills, guarantee proper air conditioning in the summer (since they double as cooling devices), and make air filtration part of the home infrastructure. This is a win-win-win for our health, our wallets, and the climate.

Send a message now to Council Members on the Planning Committee to demand that they improve their plan and ensure that new homes are built without fossil fuels from the start!

Prevent more climate pollution in Hamilton!

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Mayor

Andrea

Horwath

Hamilton City Council

Councillor

Jeff

Beattie

Hamilton City Council

Councillor

Craig

Cassar

Hamilton City Council

Councillor

John-Paul

Danko

Councillor

Councillor

Matt

Francis

Councillor

Councillor

Tammy

Hwang

Councillor

Councillor

Cameron

Kroetsch

Councillor

Councillor

Ted

McMeekin

Councillor

Councillor

Nrinder

Nann

Councillor

Councillor

Esther

Pauls

Councillor

Councillor

Mark

Tadeson

Councillor

Councillor

Alex

Wilson

Councillor

Councillor

Maureen

Wilson

Councillor

Dear Mayor Horwath and members of the Planning Committee,

I’m reaching out to you today because I would like to see the City of Hamilton adopt more ambitious Green Development Standards (GDS).

New technologies like heat pumps are far more energy and cost efficient for heating and cooling homes compared to a conventional approach that uses two separate appliances, like AC units and gas-burning furnaces. Making homes more efficient benefits residents by reducing annual heating and cooling bills while also benefiting everyone by reducing methane pollution and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

The best time to install an efficient heating and cooling solution is right from the start. During construction, the installation cost of a heat pump is on cost parity with the total installation cost of both an AC and gas furnace.

Retrofits after construction are significantly harder: they can be too expensive for homeowners to afford, beyond the ability of tenants to control, and too costly for the municipality to fully finance through tax dollars.

Therefore, I’d like to encourage the Planning committee to ensure that Hamilton’s upcoming Green Development Standards incorporate the following two recommendations to make sure that going forward our buildings will be green and future-ready:

1. The City of Hamilton should adopt more ambitious emissions intensity limits that would eventually lead to non-emitting heating systems, in alignment with the City of Toronto’s GDS. To do this:
a) Hamilton's Tier 1 should be mandatory in 2026 and include Greenhouse Gas Intensity (GHGI) limits of 8-10 kgCO2/m2/yr for all building types, including low-rise residential (matching Toronto's Tier 2 levels coming into effect in 2025). 
b) Hamilton's Tier 2 should become mandatory in 2028 and include GHGI limits of 4- 5 kgCO2/m2/yr for all building types, including low-rise residential  (matching Toronto's Tier 3 levels coming into effect in 2028).
2. The City of Hamilton should include the same emissions intensity limits for low-rise residential development from the beginning, in line with all other building types.

As Hamilton plans to build almost 50,000 new homes by 2031, these homes ought to be climate-friendly, healthy, and affordable to maintain, rather than a source of increased community-wide emissions.

The Planning Committee and its staff are taking an important step in developing GDS. Please make sure the Standards are effective in helping Hamilton control its emissions and make life a little more affordable for its residents.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}, {user_data~Zip or Postal Code}

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