Whereas the BC Building Code has incorporated the BC Energy Step Code, which sets increasingly stringent energy efficiency and greenhouse gas GHG reduction requirements for new buildings and major renovations, effectively limiting the current uses and eliminating the future uses of natural gas as a fuel in areas of BC that use the BC Building Code; And whereas many local governments, including those with significant agricultural, industrial, and rural residential needs, require flexibility and ongoing energy investment to ensure affordable, reliable, and diverse energy options for residents, businesses, and farms; And whereas limiting or eliminating natural gas as an energy option could increase energy and construction costs, reduce economic competitiveness, and limit the ability of local governments to attract and retain families, businesses, and agricultural entities that rely on natural gas for their operations; And whereas there have also been recent changes to implementation strategies in the CleanBC legislation by the Province of BC government, in coordination with the federal government, that should also be considered in context with the BC Energy Step Code and BC Building Code: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province of British Columbia to amend the BC Building Code to ensure that natural gas remains a viable energy option now and in the future, allowing residents, businesses and local governments the flexibility to determine the most appropriate energy solutions for their unique economic, geographic, and community needs, while still supporting reasonable and achievable energy efficiency goals, and that any such amendment consider applicable provincial building and energy regulations, and be implemented in a manner that expands rather than restricts local autonomy and opportunity, and is flexible and practical for all British Columbia local governments.
