Elected officials have voted in a plan that includes renovations to homes of Comox Valley citizens.
The Comox Valley Regional District Board approved an action plan on Oct. 17, to phase out fossil fuel heating in private households, including natural gas. One objective is to replace citizens’ greenhouse gas-emitting systems with a desired technology called electric heat pumps, and have citizens pay for the replacement, which costs roughly $10,000.
It’s part of efforts to reach emission reduction targets the CVRD set out for itself by the year 2050. To help this, the local government aims to convert three per cent of Valley homes to heat pumps per year, equal to about 70 private households each month.
According to BC Hydro’s website, it costs about $6,000 to $14,000 to install a heat pump.
To soften the blow on households, the CVRD is launching a service that helps people find provincial and federal rebates, starting in January. Rebates can secure up to $6,000 in refunds for one of the cheapest forms of heat pumps, called “ductless mini splits,” according to BC Hydro — as long as the household meets a list of eligibility requirements.
A notable requirement on a rebate in BC is that the owner proves they removed all systems and backup systems powered by fossil fuels.
With high thousand-dollar bills as a barrier to consumer adoption, CVRD has laid out strategies to overcome the resistance. The action plan to quadruple current uptake numbers and hit 820 homes installing heat pumps per year includes education, outreach and potential bylaws.
In order to do this, the CVRD needs better info about who is using fossil fuel heat.
Potential new bylaw being considered
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In the Comox Valley plan that was approved by the CVRD Board, called the Residential Emissions Reduction Action Plan, the local government’s first listed action is to survey residents to identify who is still using fossil fuel heat. In an interview with the Record, manager of long-term planning Robyn Holme confirmed the survey data will enable government to move forward with its plan.
Some actions include targetted outreach to fossil fuel households, as well as potentially new bylaws to enforce heat pump uptake.
As part of the plan, CVRD staff will be researching if it’s possible to compel fossil fuel households to switch to heat pumps through bylaws, when the household’s existing system is old, and at time-of-replacement. The CVRD plan also includes potential safety checks on heating tanks, which would allow local government to identify and monitor the lifespan of private residence systems.
It’s something several governments are looking at, Holme said, but no one has done it yet.
If such bylaws around household renovations were drafted, elected officials in the Comox Valley would be in the driver’s seat. Bylaws require a vote from directors or councillors to come into effect — and elected representatives could put a pin in the issue by voting “no” when the time came.
While it’s possible, it may be unlikely.
Local elects already showed support for the process, as the CVRD Board, including Directors Melanie McCollum, Doug Hillian, Richard Hardy, Jonathan Kerr, Will Cole-Hamilton, Daniel Arbour, Edwin Grieve and Wendy Morin voted unanimously on Oct. 17 to approve the RERAP, including its stated intent to consider time of replacement bylaws, tank safety checks and other enforcement mechanisms.
The vote also approved the RERAP action plan to be implemented wherever possible under local governments’ 2023-2027 financial framework and onward.
Unbuilt housing also looking to be more expensive, says developer
Along with heat in existing homes, the RERAP also included a plan to phase out emissions in future housing developments. A local developer said the plan will create costs that end up being paid for by consumers.
After a request made by Director Will Cole-Hamilton, the board voted in favour of adding to the RERAP plan the “Zero Carbon Step Code.” The building code is set out by the Province of BC as something local governments can use voluntarily to restrict emissions in new buildings.
According to local developer Shawn Vincent, this policy will lead to an increase in the cost of living in the Comox Valley. Vincent told the Record he expects rent to rise as a direct response, if the CVRD does what he suspects, and aims for the highest level of fossil fuel restrictions on the Step Code.
The CVRD would be following the footsteps of other local jurisdictions like Victoria. As well as surveying its residents, the capital city adopted the Zero Carbon Step Code this year and quickly restricted all future construction to the highest level, “Step 4,” or “Zero Carbon,” to take effect in 2024. It means Victoria’s future projects “in most cases will require the full electrification of the building.”
Vincent said renters and buyers would find themselves at the bottom of a chain of passing the buck. Developers would face higher costs to build green-friendly buildings and subsequently charge higher rent or purchase prices to consumers to maintain their profits.
When it comes to existing residences, CVRD’s manager of long-range planning said planners aren’t blind to the costs of heat pumps — but that they hope climate can be part of decision-making, and hope to advocate for the climate.
Holme pointed out that the replacement bylaw would be designed to put residents out the least. By its nature, it would respect residents’ ability to get full use of their existing system before requiring a switch. The bylaw would also introduce heat pumps at a time when residents already need to invest thousands into their home heating, as people would need to replace whatever system was at its end of life.
The most recent data provided last week by the CVRD found residential buildings made up 19 per cent of the Valley’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. The share was up seven per cent compared to three years before.
*Two sentences (first and third) have been corrected as they originally read like the sole purpose of the RERAP plan was to renovate homes. The sole purpose of the plan is to reduce GHG emissions, renovating homes is an action included to accomplish that.
**An eligiblity requirement for heat pump installation rebates has been removed as it was incorrect.
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