Modernizing the Building Bylaw

The City has adopted a new Building Bylaw No. 2018-01 following thecompletion of the engagement program. In addition to improving policies andprocedures, incorporating changes in the BC Building Act and Code, the newbylaw introduces recommendations from the BC Energy Step Code to achieve moreenergy-efficient buildings. The City met with industry stakeholders this pastspring to identify improvements and reviewed them with the community throughshapeyourcitypenticton.ca and at the ‘Juicy Topics’ open house. The draft bylawwas updated to eliminate the automatic requirement of an engineer to designfoundations for all simple buildings and to revise the start date of theimplementation of Step 01 of the Energy Step from Jan. 15 to March 15. You canread the new bylaw here. The City of Penticton wishes to thank the residentsand businesses who contributed to this work.

The City has adopted a new Building Bylaw No. 2018-01 following thecompletion of the engagement program. In addition to improving policies andprocedures, incorporating changes in the BC Building Act and Code, the newbylaw introduces recommendations from the BC Energy Step Code to achieve moreenergy-efficient buildings. The City met with industry stakeholders this pastspring to identify improvements and reviewed them with the community throughshapeyourcitypenticton.ca and at the ‘Juicy Topics’ open house. The draft bylawwas updated to eliminate the automatic requirement of an engineer to designfoundations for all simple buildings and to revise the start date of theimplementation of Step 01 of the Energy Step from Jan. 15 to March 15. You canread the new bylaw here. The City of Penticton wishes to thank the residentsand businesses who contributed to this work.

Consultation has concluded

Here are some of the most common questions about the proposed changes to the Building Bylaw.

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How will it be implemented?

about 6 years ago

Staff are anticipating reviewing the proposed Building Bylaw with Council in September with the goal of it taking effect in November of this year.

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What is a "net zero energy ready" building?

about 6 years ago

The ultimate goal of the BC Energy Step Code is Net Zero Ready construction. Net-zero energy buildings produce as much clean energy as they consume. They are up to 80 percent more energy efficient than a typical new building, and use on-site (or near-site) renewable energy systems to produce the remaining energy they need. A net-zero energy ready building is one that has been designed and built to a level of performance such that it could, with the addition of solar panels or other renewable energy technologies, achieve net-zero energy performance.

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What does it mean to builders?

about 6 years ago

Steps in the BC Step Code

The BC Energy Step Code came into force in April 2017 and builders have the option of building to the requirements at any time. Local governments have been granted 3 years (2017-2020) to evaluate their local context and to develop a strategy suitable for their particular locale. This transition period is an opportunity for local governments to be proactive by adopting one or more Steps to enable the local market to mature and to spur increased industry capacity for services and products that support higher performing buildings. At the moment, the BC Energy Step Code only applies to Part 9 residential buildings (under 4 storeys and less than 600m2 building area) for regions outside the Lower Mainland and Southern Vancouver Island. For Part 9 buildings, there are five performance target steps, each representing a higher level of performance. Steps 1 through 3 represent the Lower Steps, while Steps 4 and 5 form the Upper Steps (Figure 1). Step 1 is designed to familiarize builders with measuring energy efficiency. Builders will need to use a whole-building energy model to calculate the energy consumption of their buildings as well as have a building airtightness test done. However, the construction of the building remains the same as conventional construction and it only needs to meet the performance of the base BC Building Code. The Step Code forms a framework by which the construction industry can, over time, “step up” the performance of their buildings to the net-zero energy ready level that must be achieved by 2032.

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Are any changes expected in the future?

about 6 years ago

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What is the BC Energy Step Code?

about 6 years ago

The BC Energy Step Code is a voluntary provincial standard enacted in April 2017 that provides an incremental and consistent approach to achieving more energy-efficient buildings that go beyond the requirements of the base BC Building Code. It does so by establishing a series of measurable, performance-based energy-efficiency requirements for construction that builders can choose to build to, and communities may voluntarily choose to adopt in bylaws and policies. On June 5 th , City Council have provided initial support for implementing Step Code measures for new Part 9 residential construction with continued consultation through the summer and fall. The proposed implementation plan will be:

Building Type January 15, 2019 January 01, 2020 January 2021
SFD/2/3/4 - plex Step 01 Step 03 -
Carriage house Step 01 - Step 03
Townhouse/Low-rise apartments Step 01 Step 03 -

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What is new?

about 6 years ago

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What is being modified or expanded?

about 6 years ago