Purpose: So that Councillor Findlay may introduce the following motion which Council will consider at the April 17, 2024, regular Council meeting.
“WHEREAS North Cowichan Council adopted the Building Amendment Bylaw on October 18, 2023, which included implemented Emission Level 3 of the BC Zero Carbon Step Code on January 1, 2024, and further implementing Emission Level 4 of the BC Zero Carbon Step Code on July 1, 2024;
AND WHEREAS the construction industry has stated this is an unreasonable and difficult acceleration of code implementation without the full BC industry being in line;
AND WHEREAS the Zero Carbon Step Code, as created by the BC government, was designed to be slowly implemented over time to allow industry to adapt;
AND WHEREAS several municipalities in British Columbia, including North Cowichan and Nanaimo, have expedited the Code six years faster than the provincial guidelines;
AND WHEREAS the construction industry while guided by the rules set out in the BC Building Code by the province, may have accelerated timelines for different, and sometimes neighbouring, municipalities for the Zero Carbon Step Code implementation;
AND WHEREAS North Cowichan staff recommended the expedience of the Zero Carbon Step Code but at a slower rate of Emissions Level 2, and to maintain the provincial guidelines for the Energy Step Code;
AND WHEREAS the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Greater Vancouver and Surrey Boards of Trade, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and other unions, restaurant owners, trades and fireplace manufacturers, have created the BC Coalition for Affordable Dependable Energy lobby group to lobby the provincial government over such haphazard amendments;
NOW THEREFORE be it resolved that Council direct staff to draft an amendment to the Building Bylaw to postpone when the Emission Level 4 (EL-4) requirement comes into force and effect from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2027, to allow industry to adapt to ever-changing energy advancements and legislation.”