Lyonel Doherty
Times Chronicle Staff
Bureaucratic, onerous and burdensome.
These are the words one town councillor uses to describe the proposed new building bylaw in Oliver.
Dave Mattes expressed his concern about Building Bylaw 1404 during a review at the April 26 council meeting.
Director of Development Services Randy Houle said the BC Energy Step Code is an optional compliance tool in the BC Building Code that local governments can use to boost energy efficiency in new construction.
Houle noted the province will make it mandatory for buildings to meet certain requirements (steps) for energy efficiency. For example, Step 1 requires performance testing during construction. This includes hiring an energy advisor to conduct tests and prepare a report at a cost of approximately $1,500 to the applicant.
Houle pointed out there are significant rebates offered by Fortis for this work.
To prepare contractors for the impending changes, town staff are recommending that council adopt a new building bylaw. Houle said this bylaw will not only improve energy efficiency in local buildings but will also limit liability and risk to the town.
But Mattes said he was concerned about the burden this would place on people doing alterations and additions to their homes.
“If you want to add a wall and open up an existing wall and discover the insulation doesn’t meet today’s building code because the house was built 30 years ago, you have to replace the insulation in the whole house (and bring it up to code).”
Mattes also questioned a section in the bylaw that states an owner must give at least 24 hours’ notice to a building official of his or her intent to do work.
“Do I have to give 24 hours’ notice of my intention of going to work . . . I have to give you notice of that?
Mattes also disputed the non-refundable fee charged upon change of ownership or change of address of the owner. He fears this might be just another fee collection.
Mattes said the bylaw is adding quite a bit of bureaucracy in hiring registered professionals.
“We’re adding a lot of costs to people to do any kind of building in town here. When you’re hiring all these registered professionals it gets quite burdensome, it’s onerous on the builders.”
Councillor Petra Veintimilla said she would also like to ensure that the town is not making it too onerous or costly for applicants.
“We try to keep building costs low in the community,” she stated.
Council referred the bylaw back to staff for further review.
