COMMUNITY SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Stuart Taylor, Director, Strategic Services
	PREPARED BY:	Victoria McGrath, Manager, Environmental Leadership
	DATE OF MEETING:	2004-May-10
	SUBJECT:	Update on Town of Markham 2003-2004 Clean Air Commitments

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the staff report entitled “Update on Town of Markham 2003-2004 Clean Air Commitments”, dated May 10, 2004, be received;

AND THAT Councillor Erin Shapero, Chair, Clean Air Working Group, sign the 2004 Intergovernmental Declaration on Clean Air on behalf of the Town of Markham at the Toronto Smog Summit V on Monday, June 21, 2004;

AND THAT the Town of Markham support and promote the Region of York’s Smog Summit Community Forum being held on June 1, 2004, at the Kortright Centre for Conservation, and provide a link to the event on the Town of Markham’s web page;

AND THAT an anti-idling By-law be prepared and presented to Council for adoption effective January 1, 2005;

AND THAT the Town of Markham adopt an internal policy limiting idling of Town owned vehicles to three minutes, effective immediately;

AND THAT the Town of Markham adopt the education program attached to this report as Appendix C, to support the Anti-Idling By-Law, including hiring two students from September 2004 to January 2005 at a cost of $20,000 to implement the Anti-Idling Campaign, to be funded from the Markham Environmental Sustainability Fund;

AND THAT staff continue implementing the recommended Clean Air Initiatives as outlined in this report.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on outstanding 2002 Clean Air Working Group Commitments and outline progress underway on the Clean Air Working Group’s recommended 2003 Clean Air Initiatives, including recommending the adoption of an anti-idling by-law, and to recommend that the Town of Markham be a signatory on the Intergovernmental Declaration on Clean Air at Smog Summit V being held in Toronto on June 21, 2004.

BACKGROUND:

On June 10, 2003, Markham Council endorsed the Clean Air initiatives outlined below, as recommended by the Clean Air Working Group, as the Town’s Clean Air commitments for 2003 and requested that staff report back in 2004 on the progress made on the commitments.

DSICUSSION:

The Annual Toronto Smog Summit

With its inaugural event in 2000, the Toronto Smog Summit is an annual gathering of industry, community, and all three levels of government, promoted by the Greater Toronto Area Clean Air Council. The Town of Markham is a member of the Greater Toronto Area Clean Air Council (GTA CAC), an intergovernmental working group dedicated to exploring joint clean air initiatives in the Greater Toronto Area and to liaising with municipalities across Canada to discover best practices for reducing smog.

The Town of Markham participated in the Smog Summit in 2001, 2002 and 2003. This year, the theme for Smog Summit V, taking place at Toronto City Hall on June 21, 2004, will be a retrospective look at the accomplishments of the members of the GTA CAC over the past five years. As such, it is recommended that Councillor Erin Shapero speak to what has been done to improve clean air in Markham and the GTA airshed over the last three years of participating in the Toronto Smog Summit. In future, the Smog Summit will, in alternating years, provide an opportunity for announcements of new clean air initiatives and an opportunity to take stock of what has been done.

York Region Smog Summit Community Forum

The Region of York is hosting a community forum on June 1, 2004, at the Kortright Centre for Conservation from 6 to 9:30 p.m. to support and promote the Toronto Smog Summit on June 21, 2004. Staff from the Town of Markham have participated on the committee developing the community forum and will be distributing posters to promote the event to Town of Markham community centres and libraries. In addition, staff recommends that Markham provide a link on the Town’s web page to the Region’s community forum and include an ad in the Town’s community page in order to support and promote the event. Staff will also attend the York Region community forum and provide display materials.

Council approves Clean Air Working Group

As a result of the Town of Markham’s participation in the Smog Summit II in 2001, on

October 23, 2001, Council approved the formation of a working group comprised of members of council and staff. The Clean Air Working Group has a mandate to formulate policy, identify short and long term objectives, and promote Markham’s successes in improving air quality.

2002 Clean Air Initiatives Update

In 2002, the Clean Air Working Group recommended a series of initiatives:

· Develop and Implement a Smog Alert Response Plan

· Implement a Green Fleet Pilot Project

· Complete a Green Roof Demonstration Project

· Initiate Rouge Park Official Plan Process

· Initiate a Clean Air Public Awareness Communication Campaign

· Develop and Implement a Green Procurement Policy

· Initiate an Employee Trip Reduction Program

· Develop Tree Planting Incentives for Businesses and Residents

All of these initiatives have been implemented with the exception of two outstanding recommendations; the Green Roof demonstration project and the green procurement policy.

Green Roof Demonstration Project

A feasibility study was conducted to determine if a green roof was structurally possible on the existing Civic Centre roof. It was determined, as a result of the feasibility study, that an extensive green roof system is possible on the existing Civic Centre roof with no structural modifications. The green roof demonstration project proposed for the Civic Centre was included in the 2004 capital budget process, however was not approved.

It is recommended that the green roof demonstration project be considered for funding through the Markham Environmental Sustainability Fund and be referred to the Environmental Issues Committee for discussion at the next meeting.

Green Procurement Policy

The green procurement policy, being coordinated by Corporate Services’ Purchasing Department, is currently in draft form. An “employee guide to green procurement” would be helpful in order to implement the green procurement policy consistently across the Town. The employee guide would outline the “green” programs currently available and what employees should be looking for when purchasing a “green” product vs. a product they would have traditionally chosen. There are employee guides to green procurement available in other municipalities, including an excellent example in British Columbia. Once the employee guide has been developed, the green procurement policy can be implemented.

It is recommended that the green procurement policy and the employee guide be adopted and implemented in 2004.

2003/04 Clean Air Initiatives

At the May 23, 2003, Clean Air Working Group meeting, the following Clean Air initiatives were recommended to be included as the Town of Markham’s commitments for 2003 in the Intergovernmental Declaration on Clean Air:

2003 Commitment*	Commission and Department Responsible
Establish an Anti-idling by-law	Corporate Services Commission, Clerks Department
Review status of bicycle master plan and develop a bicycle implementation strategy	Development Services Commission, Transportation Department
Perform Emissions Audits at all Town of Markham buildings, starting with the Civic Centre	Community and Fire Services, Strategic Services Department
Develop a Monitoring program for restoration projects in Town of Markham – database containing information on groups, locations planted, area restored, etc.	Development Services Commission, Planning Department
Develop Policy document for tree planting incentives for businesses	Community and Fire Services Commission, Operations Department

*Some of the above commitments may be multi-year projects

Progress to Date on 2003 Commitments

Establish an Anti-Idling By-Law

Idling is currently dealt with in the Town of Markham’s Noise By-Law, in Schedule 1, section 5 (Appendix A). Under the Noise By-Law, no vehicle may operate for a continuous period exceeding five minutes, with a variety of exceptions. Because it is currently dealt with as a noise nuisance rather than a health and environment concern, the by-law is really only effective during weekdays around idling such as would be expected from construction sites or in industrial or commercial applications. The Noise By-Law is not intended to raise awareness of the link between air quality and vehicle emissions.

Based on research of other jurisdictions, anti-idling by-laws are currently in place in other GTA municipalities, including the Cities of London and Toronto. The duration of idling allowed in each by-law generally varies between three and five minutes. As a result, this report recommends enacting a new anti-idling by-law in the Town of Markham, similar to that enacted in the City of London, to be enforceable in the community effective January 1, 2005, that limits vehicle idling to three minutes rather than amending the existing Noise By-Law (see Appendix B). Exceptions include but are not limited to emergency vehicles while in emergency situations and transit vehicles while passengers are embarking or disembarking.

In order to effectively enforce the Anti-Idling By-law, additional enforcement resources will be required. The By-Law Division is reviewing the impacts on staffing of a number of initiatives being proposed by Council with each approved initiative creating incremental resource requirements. Once all new program initiatives are identified and detailed enforcement expectations established, staff will calculate an overall 2005 staffing resource requirement number. That number will be brought forward for consideration as part of the 2005 Budget Process. Until the budget process is complete and resources have been established, the focus of By-Laws will be on education around the Anti-Idling By-Law rather than enforcement.

This report also recommends that an internal policy be adopted that limits idling of Town vehicles to three minutes effective immediately in order to demonstrate leadership and to ensure that Markham’s house is “in order” in advance of asking the community to comply with the idling by-law.

The Anti-Idling message must be promoted and recognized internally to ensure staff understand and comply with the by-law. This “house in order” campaign can be achieved in a variety of ways, including placing “anti-idling” decals in Town vehicles, delivering workshops on the benefits of reducing idling, establishing signage at Town properties and providing information in Town newsletters and on the inter-and intra-net.

In other municipalities, such as the Cities of Mississauga and Hamilton and the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, an education campaign has been promoted in conjunction with or rather than a by-law because of the lack of enforcement resources in these municipalities. The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, for example, asks drivers to turn their engines off within ten seconds of parking their vehicles. The experiences from these municipalities show that an education campaign needs to be intensive initially, in order to get the message out as quickly and effectively as possible. As a result, an anti-idling education campaign is recommended in advance of and in conjunction with the implementation of the by-law in order to make the public aware of the by-law and the benefits of reducing idling (see Appendix C).

As a member of the GTA CAC, Markham benefited from an anti-idling campaign in 2003 which was promoted by the Clean Air Partnership. Stickers and flyers were handed out at the Unionville Festival parade and posters were distributed to all community centres and public libraries. In addition, some local gas stations also participated in the anti-idling campaign by placing “Idle Free Zone” signage in their locations.

To deliver the anti-idling education campaign, it is recommended that the Town hire two students for a five-month campaign from the beginning of September 2004 to the end of January 2005. These students would be expected to deliver the education campaign to the community, businesses and to internal staff as outlined in Appendix C, maintain records related to their daily activities and manage the installation of signage in appropriate locations throughout the Town to prepare the community for the anti-idling by-law. To ensure a consistent approach, the education campaign outlined is based on the same campaign promoted in 2003 by the Clean Air Partnership. It is important that the education campaign be in effect during the school year, since schools will be an important area for education and that the campaign spans both warm and cold seasons to re-enforce the message that reduced idling is beneficial in all seasons, not just summer when air quality is at its poorest.

Review status of bicycle master plan and develop a bicycle implementation strategy

A staff report went to Transportation Committee and Council in January 2004 and was received.  The following work is now in the 2004 budget:

1) Initiate and establish a Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (CPAC)

2) Implement Phase I of Bike Plan (which includes signage and some pavement markings to generate interest and promote the mode) which will be subject to input from CPAC

3) Initiate the Phase II Bike Study which will look at the longer term bike planning for the Town.  This includes establishing and costing a plan which can be incorporated into the Town's capital works plan which phased over the next ten plus years by way of new development, reconstruction as a result of maintenance and other issues.

Perform Emissions Audits at all Town of Markham buildings, starting with the Civic Centre

In October 2003, staff from Strategic Services and Asset Management met with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to discuss the emissions and energy audit for the Markham Civic Centre. ICLEI can produce baseline emissions inventories, identify cost-effective reduction measures and is actively involved in emissions trading. At this time, ICLEI is preparing a proposal that will outline the components of an audit and costs to undertake an audit of the Civic Centre and will provide this to staff once the proposal is prepared.

Develop a Monitoring program for restoration projects in the Town of Markham

This project has been incorporated into the Environmental Policy Review and Consolidation underway by the Development Services Commission. The Terms of Reference for this study have been approved by Council and it is expected that the study will commence in the spring 2004 with expected completion by the end of 2004.

Develop Policy document for tree planting incentives for businesses

The Town of Markham is not in a position to provide monetary incentives to businesses to encourage them to plant trees on their properties. The incentives the Town could provide include recognition:

• On the Markham web site;
• On signage recognizing the tree planting(s) at the business’s location;
• In the About Markham newsletter;
• Through a Certificate of Appreciation from Council;
• Through small gifts such as pen sets, ball caps or golf balls for participating employees;
• In the Recreation guide, and;
• At an awards ceremony at Council similar to the Eco-Susie Awards or the Silver Trash Can Lid Award.

In addition, staff expertise and support for plantings could provide technical assistance for businesses on types of plant materials, how and where to purchase plant materials and how to ensure a successful planting.

Businesses should be encouraged by a sense of social responsibility for the community in which they do business and where their employees spend time during their working hours. Providing opportunities for recognition will allow businesses to demonstrate their leadership in this area. Staff will continue working on a policy document based on the principles of recognition and reward for business leadership in this area.

Review Naturalization practices in natural areas (Phase I); identify opportunities for naturalization in natural areas, including ravines and valley lands (Phase II)

On March 8, 2004, Operations staff provided a report to Council outlining plans to hire a consultant to review the condition of the Town’s parks in order to make recommendations related to maintenance and reducing the use of pesticides. In addition to seeking a review of park conditions, staff will request that the consultant also review the Town’s naturalization practices in natural areas and identify opportunities for naturalization within the Town’s parks system. A report related to the consultant’s review will be provided to Council upon its conclusion.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Hiring two students to support the Anti-Idling Education Campaign from September 2004 to January 2005 at a cost of $20,000, to be funded from the Markham Environmental Sustainability Fund.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Corporate Services

Development Services

Community and Fire Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A – Town of Markham Noise By-Law

Appendix B – City of London Anti-Idling By-Law

Appendix C – Idling Education Campaign

Stuart Taylor, Director, Strategic Services

Jim Sales, Commissioner, Community and Fire Services