Home builders push for delay in new energy rules

Pleas by Okanagan homebuilders for the delayed implementation of a new energy code should be ignored, Lake Country officials say.

The latest round of new energy code requirements, set to take effect in October, will drive up house prices and was devised without sufficient industry consultation, home-builders say.

New code provisions designed to improve a home’s energy efficiency will add 15 percent to the cost of a new home, the Central Okanagan Homebuilders’ Association says.

“Housing affordability is one of the top issues facing British Columbians right now,î”the association’s board of directors write in a letter to the town of Lake Country.

Extra home-building costs represent “an additional challenge to builders already struggling with the economic impact of COVID-19,” the association says.

Kelowna and Penticton have delayed implementation of the third phase of the B.C. Energy Step Code until June 2021 and March 2021, respectively.

But Jamie McEwan, Lake Country’s planning manager, will advise town council at a meeting next Tuesday to stick to the planned implementation date of this October.

McEwan does not agree with the builders’ estimation of extra costs. He says the provisions will amount to only two per cent in additional costs and deliver significant energy savings over the life of the building.

As well, McEwan says there was plenty of industry consultation on the matter, and says the new energy code will help address climate change.

Although the builders cite the economic damage wrought by COVID-19 as a reason to delay the next phase of the code requirements, McEwan takes an opposite view

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a crisis of public health, as well as economics. With that said . . . the sustainability and comfort of homes are more pressing than ever,” McEwan writes in his report to council.

Lake Country town manager Alberto DeFeo supports the implementation of the next code provisions as planned in October. But he notes that council could choose to delay implementation, as other municipalities have done.

Council will decide the matter at a meeting on Tuesday.