Burnaby council has approved a rezoning bylaw for a high-density expansion of SFU’s Burnaby Mountain UniverCity community. It will include 1.2 million square feet of residential development across 12 new parcels of land.

The bylaw is the first in North America to set defined sustainability and energy requirements. It’s also the most comprehensive green-building bylaw in Canada, if not North America, mandating that all developments be at least 30-per-cent more energy efficient than code buildings.

The Phase 3 expansion will include as many as 1,250 new units of housing, including a 20-storey mountaintop residential tower with spectacular Lower Mainland views.

UniverCity has also broken ground on a 50-student childcare facility next to University Highlands elementary school. The structure will be built to a Living Building Challenge standard, making it Canada’s most energy-efficient building. The 275-student elementary school will open this fall, while the childcare facility will open in September 2011.