Three years from now, all new buildings and renovations Courtenay will be zero-carbon.
In a recent council meeting, the City of Courtenay adopted the Zero Carbon Step Code, putting it on an accelerated path to achieving net-zero in all new constructions and renovations requiring city approval. The move puts it two years ahead of schedule in adopting the CleanBC Road Map, which is to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. However, it will still be behind the Capital Regional District, City of Nanaimo, Duncan, and Lantzville, which already require those projects to meet the net-zero emissions standard.
The BC Zero Carbon Step Code sets emission reduction targets for new buildings. Set out by the Province, it is a way for municipalities to improve new buildings over time. The code is complimentary to the BC Energy Step Code, and reduces emissions while improving building efficiency by making buildings cleaner, more energy efficient and more affordable to operate.
The code has four stages or steps, EL-1, EL-2, EL-3, and EL-4. EL stands for Emission Levels. The EL-1 step requires builders to simply measure carbon emissions, and 2-3 are for moderate to strong reductions and finally El-4 is for zero carbon emissions. The province mandated that all new buildings meet EL-1 as of March of this year, and the City of Courtenay has gone beyond that in its new resolution.
To meet these requirements, builders have a few options. For smaller buildings like single-family homes, builders can either decarbonize energy-intensive appliances like space heating and cooking equipment (with more decarbonized appliances the higher the carbon step), or by meeting certain emission targets. Larger, more complex buildings 鈥� since they are more complex 鈥� must meet certain targets.
The City put out a survey to the development industry in Courtenay earlier this year. For the most part, the developers who responded were only interested in the City making a decision and providing guidance. However, Coun. Wendy Morin said there were some comments 鈥渢hat can be perceived as negative.
鈥淢aybe council鈥檚 doing it for the feather in the cap to get credit for saving the planet,鈥� she read from the comments. However, Morin replied that 鈥淚 think it's frustration around all the things that builders are dealing with. It's not just here. It's it's the provincial stuff. It's it's all the other things that you're dealing with when you're trying to build.
She added that council would do 鈥渨hatever we can do to alleviate that, but also try to save the planet and all those things, because I don't think those should be considered as bad things. We have heat domes killing people. We have forest fires. we have, you know, I think most people and most of the builders that I know do believe in climate change and do believe that we we need to we need to do more, but when it's affecting people's bottom line and and you know creating stress for them, then we have to acknowledge that as well.鈥�
Coun. Will Cole-Hamilton added that many residents and builders are already meeting the standard set out by EL-4, saying that 鈥淚 don't think without even meaning to, people aren鈥檛 consciously intending to be building a zero-carbon step code level four building. They're just simply a choice of many developers. And you can tell that just by walking around town. So, given that I see the voluntary adoption at the highest levels of the zero-carbon step code by developers just of their own free will because it's just the decision that makes sense.鈥�
Council resolved that the building code require EL-3 by January 2026, and EL-4 by January, 2028.
