| Provincial
Contaminated Sites – The UDI Contaminated Sites Committee met on April 5th, following the Omnibus Breakfast Seminar. The Committee was joined by staff members from the City of Vancouver and the B.C. Ministry of Environment. The Province has requested comments on several documents, due April 28th. Additionally, the Ministry of Environment has requested that UDI monitor instances where municipalities want to implement their own contaminated sites requirements beyond the provincial standards. If you have experienced this, please contact UDI.
BC Energy Step Code (ESC) – This came into effect on April 11th, as an amendment to the BC Building Code. UDI has been working closely with the Province on the creation of these new energy efficiency construction requirements. They were established because as of December 15th, all local government bylaws with technical building requirements, including green building bylaws, will have no legal force – unless there is an exemption. The Step Code will create consistency across the province for energy efficiency bylaws. Please note, the City of Vancouver is not covered by the Step Code or the December 15th deadline, but their policies are closely aligned with the ESC.
Provincial Election – Read up on the party platforms: Green, NDP, Liberal
UDI also contributed questions for a political panel of all parties’ housing positions hosted by BCREA on April 12th.
Municipal
City of Vancouver
Building Code Committee Meeting, April 7th – At this meeting with civic staff the City’s proposed Low Carbon Energy System Policy (LCES) was discussed. This policy would provide another option to developers to meet the City’s carbon and energy efficiency target. UDI will continue to work with the City through the spring on this preliminary proposal.
UDI is hosting breakfast seminar with the City of Vancouver on Passive House design on May 11. Registration coming soon.
Empty Homes Tax – City of Vancouver staff have asked UDI to submit questions regarding the implementation of the Empty Homes Tax related to new development. The City will develop a website FAQ, then host an educational session with UDI. Please send any questions you might have regarding the implementation of the new tax.
Cambie Corridor Phase 3 – The City will be seeking feedback on draft policy and directions, including the Oakridge Municipal Town Centre. More information here.
Port Coquitlam
EV charging policy for new developments – the City is consulting until April 21st. Contact the City with feedback. The policy includes requiring rough-ins of Level 2 EV charging infrastructure in the parking area of new apartment buildings, with outlets accessible to each resident parking spot (there are no requirements for visitor spots). Outlets could be shared between spaces. Negotiations would occur for commercial/industrial projects.
District of North Vancouver
UDI is meeting with civic staff to receive a general update on major planning & development initiatives. Please contact UDI if you are interested in attending this meeting. The meeting is on May 3rd, 2:00 – 3:30 pm, DNV Municipal Hall, meeting room A.
City of North Vancouver Density Bonusing
The City encourages the development community to provide feedback by the end of this April. For more information on the density bonusing policy please see: www.cnv.org/DensityBonus
If you have any feedback please contact Emilie Adin, Deputy Director, Community Development
Inaugural Housing Summit Hosted by Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT)
After their business member survey identified housing affordability as a major obstacle to recruiting and retaining staff, GVBOT hosted its first-ever Housing Summit on April 18th, featuring diverse speakers who offered some solutions. GVBOT also released a complementary research and recommendations report entitled Unlocking Supply: Housing Affordability & the Missing Middle.
UDI members and developer leaders including: Eric Carlson, President, Anthem Properties, Jon Stovell, President, Reliance Properties and our President & CEO Anne McMullin were three of many speakers at the half-day event. Takeaways included the reality that we all have a role to play in solving the affordability crisis, from embracing more housing options in single family neighbourhoods, to reducing municipal building approval delays whose costs are passed on to homebuyers. All governments must work together with communities and stakeholders to increase housing supply, through purpose-built rental, market and non-market housing with innovative ownership options that include community land trusts and co-ops. Please click here for Facebook livestream.
UDI President Anne McMullin speaking to reporters at the GVBOT Housing Summit on April 18 |
