The City of North Vancouver is making changes to building permit applications, starting November 1. Building Permit applications for single-family houses, coach houses, duplexes, and some townhouses will be required to comply with new energy efficiency requirements as of November 1, 2023.
In a press release, CNV said its Construction Regulation Bylaw has been updated to reflect new minimum energy efficiency requirements for Part 9 residential buildings, which includes single family homes, coach houses, duplexes and some townhouses. The regulations were updated under the province’s Energy Step Code and the Zero Carbon Step Code.
The new requirements
As of November 1, 2023, building permit applications for new Part 9 residential buildings will be required to demonstrate compliance with the Energy Step Code and the Zero Carbon Step Code.
Building Permit applications must include the Design Verification Report and the applicable portion of the Provincial BC Step Code Compliance Checklist. Details are available on the City’s building permit webpage at cnv.org/permits.
Regulation Framework
The BC Building Code defines the minimum required performance levels for buildings in the areas of life safety, building safety, health, accessibility, and energy efficiency. The Energy Step Code was introduced in 2017 by the province to provide energy efficiency thresholds for local governments to implement.
In 2021, The City implemented low carbon requirements to reduce emissions from building mechanical equipment. The adoption of the province’s new Zero Carbon Step Code will align City and provincial low carbon requirements to provide a more consistent regulatory framework for new construction, CNV says.
In the City of North Vancouver, carbon pollution from buildings accounts for 43% of emissions, a significant proportion of which is attributed to natural gas for space heating and domestic hot water. The City has a target of zero emissions by 2050 and it aims to do that through better constructed buildings and low-carbon energy systems. “Transitioning to high performance new homes with zero-carbon emissions from mechanical systems will reduce emissions from residential homes and support quality construction, improved comfort, and better indoor air quality,” CNV says.
WT*? No Natural Gas in new homes? We didn’t vote for this and not one Counselor or the Mayor ran on this idea of banning Natural Gas, one of the cleanest burning energy sources in the world. This is so ridiculous, I actually believe it to be dangerous!
Homes should be required to have two main sources of energy for redundancy and safety. If you only have electricity and the Grid goes down for an extended period of time, which is highly likely with an earthquake or other potential disasters. If you have two sources, electricity of course will be one, but either wood or natural gas for the other, you can keep warm and cook, even if the electricity is out.
This ideological thinking is wrong for you, me and society! It’s time we get some common sense and stop destroying what we have with new expensive regulations. And so much for “affordable housing” costs. That’s a laughable joke. At every turn, Governments at all levels make it more and more expensive to build and/or buy a home. They are one of the BIG problems when it comes to affordability. Has anyone at CNV given an answer as to how much more this cost to build a home? And don’t buy into the nonsense that it will be less because you’re only adding one type of energy source or that “renewable energy” is now cheaper than Nat Gas. Just more lies from our elected officials and special interests.