A bylaw amendment given first three readings by council on Dec. 7 aims to address an oversight related to the Energy Step Code.
While Whistler’s Energy Step Code bylaw—requiring residential buildings to be built to Step 3 of the energy efficiency Step Code—came into effect in 2018, Resort Municipality of Whistler staff recently realized that some single-family or duplex homes may be big enough to be classified as Part 3 (commercial), and would not be regulated by the bylaw, which currently only relates to Part 9 buildings.
Part 3 buildings are defined as a building exceeding 600 square metres or three storeys in height.
“There are quite a few lots in Whistler that allow a house to be built that large; there hasn’t been many built in the past, but there are some, and there is still unbuilt lots that have that potential,” said general manager of infrastructure services James Hallisey at the Dec. 7 council meeting.
Factoring in a three-metre height bonus that can be applied to sloping lots, “there are many lots in Whistler that a four-storey house could be built, which would open the door to those four-storey houses potentially being built to a lesser Step Code,” Hallisey said.
“So this is trying to reactivate the intention of the original bylaw.”
Though there are houses in Whistler large enough to classify as Part 3, “as far as I know, all the ones that have been built were built prior to the Step Code coming in,” Hallisey said.
“But we want to make sure that that isn’t going to be the way people go [in the future].”
No technical changes to the Building and Plumbing bylaw are required, but wording will be amended to ensure all residential buildings are constructed to the Energy Step Code. Adoption will follow at a later date.
