British Columbia has set ambitious objectives to combat climate change in the construction sector. The province aims for all newly constructed buildings to have zero operational carbon emissions by 2030 and for all new structures to be ready for net-zero energy by 2032. The BC Energy Step Code and the Zero Carbon Step Code are instrumental in reaching these targets. Over the next ten years, the province will methodically integrate these step codes into the foundational BC Building Code, with transitional requirements anticipated in 2024, 2027, and 2030.
The updated BC Step Code Best Practices Guide for Local Governments is a comprehensive revision of the initial 2018 version. This guide has been enriched by contributions from key stakeholders in the building industry, including industry professionals, municipal authorities, utility companies, and housing agencies. It provides fresh insights on the Zero Carbon Step Code and refined best practices derived from extensive practical experience. Nevertheless, the core principles established by the Step Code Council during its initial launch remain relevant: providing early notification, implementing incremental changes, maintaining a clear schedule, and engaging in proactive dialogue and education are all essential for a successful and seamless transition in the market.
This guide provides top-line, how-to information about the planning and development of sustainable neighbourhoods, offering practical solutions to common challenges. It answers
important questions about sustainable neighbourhood development:
What is a sustainable neighbourhood, and how can I make the case for pursuing this kind of development?
What are the major challenges, and how can they be overcome?
Where else in Canada has this been done successfully, and what factors led to that success?
This guide outlines steps to help you find and engage the right developers and collaborators for brownfields sites in Canadian cities and towns of all sizes.
The guide also includes case studies that offer creative ideas and practical examples that you can apply in your municipality.
The guide is designed for: Municipal staff, such as sustainability coordinators, planners, project managers, economic development officers and chief administrative officers, who are responsible for creating and implementing a brownfield strategy.
The people of the Capital Regional District (CRD) are actively seeking solutions to a sustainable food supply for the Region. This is especially challenging when farming is faced with rising land costs, labour shortages and
an aging farm population. This report summarizes the knowledge and recommendations gained at the conference on these challenges. It discusses key strategies, tools, and resources currently being employed, or that could be employed in the CRD to address these critical issues.
A resource list which will provide local governments with context and information related to taking climate action under the Local Government (Green Communities) Statutes Amendment Act.
The Green Infrastructure Guide provides guidance on how local governments while using legal and policy strategies, encourage or require more sustainable infrastructure designs.
The guide refers readers to strategies, and highlights case studies of local governments that have already taken steps to incorporate a green infrastructure approach. The focus is on implementation mechanisms, issues and barriers, and on what lessons have been learned from experiences to date.
The City of Coquitlam Green Development Guide provides an explanation of five key green development topics; highlights green development practices applicable to development conditions within Coquitlam; can be used to facilitate discussions regarding sustainable development; and is a potential resource for development projects:
Green Building (including renewable energy)
Green Infrastructure (stormwater management and district energy)
Natural Infrastructure (open space networks, naturescaping)
The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative aims to equip local governments across Canada with the tools needed to identify and account for natural assets at the community level, as well as the best practice guidelines for working with community stakeholders to increase natural asset management. As part of series of guiding documents being developed in collaboration with the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI), this report highlights how local governments can include private land and private landowners in a comprehensive municipal natural asset management framework.
This report illustrates the continued progress by local governments to reduce carbon emissions through highlighting examples of the achievements and experiences of small, medium, and large communities in 2018. It includes:
Update on local government progress towards corporate carbon neutrality
Highlights of climate mitigation and adaptation actions taken by small, medium, and large communities across BC
Hyperlinked list of funding sources and programs used by local governments in support of climate action
Sustainable site design through development permits
A Development Permit Area (DPA) is a set of development regulations pertaining to a specific area as specified by the Official Community Plan. Any proposed building or subdivision within a DPA requires the issuance of a development permit. The authority for local governments to establish DPAs is set out in the Local Government Act.
The purposes of a DPA are:
protect development from hazardous conditions;
protect agricultural land;
protect the natural environment, its ecosystems and biological diversity;
revitalize an area in which a commercial use is permitted;
establish objectives for the form and character of intensive residential development, and/or to establish objectives for the form and character of commercial, industrial or multi-family residential development.
establish objectives to promote energy conservation, water conservation, and reduce greenhouse gases
The flexibility of DPA guidelines allow local governments to exercise their discretion in granting or refusing a permit on a case-by-case basis while providing objective principles to guide conditions for approving or refusing a DP application. [1]
DPAs work in coordination with a Zoning Bylaw to shape development on the scale of a parcel or development site. Comprehensive Development Zones can be quite specific, working well in tandem with DPAs.
Development Permit Areas can stipulate conditions for Density Bonusing.
Standards and designs for streets (e.g., “Complete Streets”) specified in Subdivision and Development Control Bylaw must be consistent with DPAs objectives.
A DPA is a versatile design tool that can be designed to influence emissions from land use, buildings, and transportation. There are some key implementation considerations in applying DPAs to address climate change priorities.
Key Implementation Considerations
In setting guidelines for a DPA, a local government may not require buildings to meet standards that exceed a local government’s authority over building standards. However, local governments may encourage green building standards by indicating they are desirable.
The scope of authority for DPAs does not include buildings (inside the building envelope). However, it allows for DPAs that promote energy and water conservation and reduce greenhouse gases at the site scale. This includes:
landscaping
siting of buildings
form and exterior of buildings
specific features in the development
machinery, equipment and systems that are external to buildings.
DPAs can be created during an Official Community Plan and/or a Neighbourhood Plan process. To have a robust planning framework, there must be continuity and support between the policies, land use designations, and DPAs.
Land Use Opportunities
Complete, compact neighbourhoods
DPA guidelines define the form and character of new developments, with the following applications:
areas of intensive residential development (ex: small lot areas, infill areas)
mixed use development
multiple family residential development
commercial areas
DPA guidelines develop continuity and set parameters for performance of new developments. DPA guidelines are not intended to foster monotony or uniformity in design.
Sketch showing preferred exterior design of secondary suites. Image: City of New Westminster.
Good planning and design-including DPA guidelines-are the foundation for creating compact communities where people want to live. Success requires deliberate planning for the mix and density of land use, and design is of utmost importance: “How we perceive density has everything to do with how it is designed, not the actual ratio of units to acres,” according to the Lincoln Institute [2].
DPAs are essential in guiding new development that will be supported by residents and fit in with the character of existing neighbourhoods.
Ecologically significant areas, natural hazards, and agricultural land
To maximize the benefits of compact and complete communities that concentrate growth, DPAs can be used to protect ecologically significant areas, natural hazards, and agricultural land – objectives that increase resilience to climate change and enhance carbon sequestered in soils and forests.
Building Opportunities
In setting guidelines for a DPA, a local government cannot require buildings to meet standards that exceed a local government’s authority. However, local governments may encourage green building standards by indicating they are desirable. For example, the DPA guidelines for the Dockside Green project in Victoria indicate that LEED standards are a “should” whereas other DPA guidelines are stipulated as mandatory elements. A separate master development agreement was negotiated by the City and the Dockside developer for LEED Silver standard. [1]
Form and character
Building design guidelines that advance climate action include:
glazing and orientation for solar energy gain
landscaping that requires less water
drainage by infiltration, maximizing pervious surfaces on the site
Energy efficiency, water efficiency and reduction in emissions
One approach is to develop voluntary design guidelines and encourage uptake with incentives like a tax exemption or building permit rebate. Subsequently they could be formally included in a DPA.
Guidelines could potentially include requirements for energy efficiency for “specific features in the development”, or as “machinery, equipment and systems external to buildings and other structures”. Requirements could include ground-field loops for ground-source heat pump systems, solar thermal collectors, a district energy system (using recovered sewer heat or biomass), and systems or features that implement eco-industrial networking concepts, such as the use of “waste” heat from one business as an input to a neighbouring business. [3][4]
To meet legislated requirements for targets and reductions, local governments could potentially develop an energy conservation target for a DPA and correlate the target with a required proportional component of renewable energy in new development. [3][4]
With the authority to include specific landscaping guidelines, DPAs can restrict the placement and type of trees and other vegetation in proximity to buildings and other structures within a DPA, thus allowing local governments to guarantee access to sunlight for buildings that include solar energy features [4], and irrigation systems. Additional opportunities include guidelines for energy-wise outdoor lighting, building siting and orientation. [3]
Transportation Opportunities
Form and character guidelines for site and building design can include elements that favour sustainable and active modes of transportation.
Site layout
Preferred design for pedestrian crossing of a driveway with low volume is to raise the driveway crossing up and over the pedestrian crossing, and texture the surface of the crossing. This warns visually impaired pedestrians about the driveway, slows vehicle traffic, and reinforces the continuity of pedestrian movement along the sidewalk. Image: IBI Group / Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Internal transportation network configuration determines how pedestrians, cyclists, carpoolers, transit riders move through the site. Guidelines can influence design to minimize conflict between pedestrians and cyclists with cars.
Building design
The location of the building (setback, location of entrances, organization of parking) affects how conducive the building is to active transportation modes. Well-designed bicycle storage, parking space allocation, pedestrian walkway details, change facilities, and lighting can tip the balance toward choosing an active mode of transportation.
DPAs are an excellent opportunity to require site and building design that allows people with varying mobility and sensory abilities to efficiently get to, from and around new developments. DPAs can include requirements for entrances, hallways, entryways, parking areas that facilitate unrestricted movement.
[1] Rutherford, Susan, 2006. Green Buildings Guide. West Coast Environmental Law
[2] Campoli and MacLean, 2007. Visualizing Density, 2007, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
[3] Compass Resource Management Ltd., West Coast Environmental Law, Holland Barrs Planning Group, Shaun Martin Consulting Prepared for: The District of Squamish, 2008. Advanced Briefing of Options for Advancing Energy Efficiency for New Buildings.
[4] Community Energy Association, 2008. Policy and Governance Tools: Renewable Energy Guide For Local Governments in British Columbia (Draft).
