>Builders worried new environmental rules will be instituted without adequate stakeholder consultation
>But city says policy to promote energy efficiency will require improvements to be appropriate for each project
Vancouver’s latest initiative to secure the title of greenest city in the world is raising red flags from builders, who want to do the right thing, but don’t want to be told how to do it.
Just as many opponents of the Hornby Street bike lane decried what they perceived as a lack of genuine consultation with stakeholders, many building managers and developers fear a new renovation policy that emphasizes environmental efficiencies is being drafted without adequate consultation.
Indeed, many sources contacted over the past two weeks were unaware of the current status of the initiative and unable to voice much more than concern despite city staff’s intent to present the policy to council by the end of the year.
“From what I have seen I wasn’t, and the association wasn’t, happy with it right up to the national level,” said John Friswell, principal of CCI Renovations in North Vancouver and chairman of the Canadian Home Builders Association’s (CHBA) Canadian Renovators’ Council. “It kind of disappeared off the map, and we were kind of happy about that. Now it seems to be reappearing, just like the bike lanes.”
Friswell is a certified green professional through the National Association of Home Builders in the U.S. who helped formulate the new BuiltGreen Renovation program the CHBA launched earlier this year. He said he supports sustainable building initiatives, but believes the city isn’t paying enough attention to industry as it implements its agenda.
“We’re against municipalities and provinces doing their own thing as far as green codes go, without having some empirical data as to what it does to the building or what it does to the cost,” he said. “Vancouver is jumping on the green bandwagon as fast as it can, and it’s just not due process.”
Friswell added that the potential cost of fulfilling city-mandated green requirements is one of industry’s biggest concerns. But David Ramslie, Vancouver’s sustainable development program manager, said the city is aiming for a policy that requires simple improvements appropriate to each project, and that the requirements harmonize with incentive programs BC Hydro and other companies offer to encourage energy-efficient upgrades.
“We have to keep this criteria very affordable and modest,” Ramslie said. “There’s lots of things that people can do for $200 that would vastly improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
“We’re looking for things that have rapid paybacks, that are easy to do, are not burdensome for any kind of homeowner in any way but are just sort of best practices.”
Ramslie said city staff are preparing the policy for city council to review and approve (or not) by the end of the year for eventual incorporation within Part 10 of the Vancouver Building Bylaw in 2011.
Staff propose that renovations of less than $5,000 require no upgrade; those between $5,000 and $25,000 must complete an energy audit estimated at about $500 and submit it to the building inspector prior to renovating. Renovations valued at $25,001 to $95,000 must tighten the building envelope to conserve energy, insulate hot water tanks and hot water piping and install low-flow faucets and shower heads. These improvements are estimated to cost homeowners approximately $1,250 on top of the $500 energy audit.
All larger renovations must make the smaller upgrades and increase attic insulation. The city pegs the cost of the overall package at $4,100.
Ramslie said regulations for commercial properties will be ready in November, following “full public consultation.”
Heather Tremain, a green building consultant and partner in reSource Rethinking Building Inc., said the city is taking a “rational approach” by scaling requirements to project size.
But many industry representatives are concerned the city is pursuing its green agenda regardless of what the business community and property owners think.
Paul LaBranche, executive vice-president of BOMA BC, said his members are meeting Ramslie in early November to discuss the proposed policies for commercial buildings. BOMA was approached during the initial consultations, but LaBranche said the city hasn’t been in touch lately. He hears rumblings of what’s proposed, however, and he’s concerned.
“Some of what they’re proposing is stuff that we may not be able to support. We haven’t see seen any details as yet, but it’s enough to get us concerned that they’ve been told to get something done by the end of the year.”
The city’s drive to green itself also concerns Peter Simpson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association. The city hasn’t met with the association of late, and Simpson said his main concern is that the city’s requirements don’t drive business underground.
“Vancouver is bound and determined to make its city the greenest in the world, damn the torpedoes,” Simpson said. “There are pros and cons to it, but it has to be done in a sensible way and one that’s not going to force people into the underground economy in order to avoid it. ... There are people out there who want to do the right thing, but they don’t want to be told how to do it.”