Green Building

This policy establishes a minimum standard for energy efficiency and environmental performance for civic buildings and identifies public engagement strategies to encourage green building in the private sector.

Whereas:

• The Town of Qualicum Beach and its citizens support the conservation of our planet’s natural resources, the well being and biodiversity of our surrounding ecosystem, the health of our residents, the economic strength of our Town and region, and the social vibrancy of our community;
• On September 26, 2007, the Town of Qualicum Beach signed on to the BC Climate Action Charter, committing to be carbon-neutral in its own operations by 2012;
• Buildings consume 40% of the world’s energy, produce large amounts of waste, and have a tremendous impact on the quality of our social and economic environment;
• High quality design and strategic investments can result in significant savings over the life-cycle of a building, and it is in the best interest of the Town to make investments that will result in financial savings;
• Improving the performance of our built environment is a positive step toward the Town’s environmental, economic and social objectives;
• Adherence to green building standards such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^TM) will help implement these goals;

The Town takes responsibility for municipal buildings by committing to high green building standards ("LEED^TM Silver") for all municipal construction projects larger than 500m2. Adherence to this policy will yield long-term cost savings to the Town’s taxpayers due to the reduced life-cycle costs for municipal buildings achieved through effective design. A green building design policy will also yield substantial social and environmental benefits for current and future residents of the Town.

With regard to privately developed buildings, all commercial and multi-unit residential developments will be encouraged to have a LEED Certified Professional verify that the design and construction of the development meets the LEED^TM Silver standard as a condition of the rezoning process. Recognizing that a higher standard can result in increased costs to the developer, the Town will consider incentives for green building projects.

This policy is part of a comprehensive campaign to address long-term sustainability of Qualicum Beach.

Click here for the complete policy.

To find out more about Step Code energy efficiency go here