With vote looming, builders hope Vancouver sticks with gas restrictions

Some of Vancouver's leading builders are eyeing with frustration an upcoming city council vote that could eliminate the city's years-old restrictions on using natural gas in new buildings. 

The vote, scheduled for Nov. 26, will mark the end of a months-long controversy over efforts by conservative council members to scratch restrictions on the use of natural gas for heat and hot water in new buildings. The rules, implemented in 2020, made Vancouver the first Canadian municipality to restrict gas for climate reasons and inspired dozens of other local governments to do the same.

But in a dramatic July meeting, four council members voted to approve an unexpected amendment that would reverse the restrictions, citing affordability and consumer choice. Activists, construction industry leaders and more progressive councillors lambasted the decision. In October, about 150 business people wrote the city asking to keep the rules. 

"I was quite surprised and frustrated by it," said Bryn Davidson, co-owner and lead designer of Lanefab design/build, a Vancouver-based green construction company. Vancouver is a good place to build because the city has been so consistent in creating its green building regulations, he said. 

 "When this came out of the blue, we were taken aback," he said. 

Buildings are responsible for about 55 per cent of Vancouver's greenhouse gas emissions. City staff noted on Tuesday that even with the 2020 restrictions on natural gas use, the city is not on track to meet its 2030 climate goals. Several analyses — including from B.C. Hydro, B.C. Housing and Clean Energy Canada — say installing electric heating systems like heat pumps in new buildings typically costs the same or less, as using gas.

Contractors who support the restrictions say in addition to the climate benefits of using less natural gas, the rules helped them plan new buildings, source materials and equipment like heat pumps, and train their employees on electric-based construction. 

While Davidson understands why some of the more small-c "conservative" people in the construction industry have attacked the regulations — many don't want to learn new low-carbon building techniques and re-train their staff — similar rules are scheduled to be implemented province-wide in 2030. Whether now or in a few years, the shift from heating with natural gas to electric heat pumps is inevitable, he said. 

Still, regardless of the outcome of the Nov. 26 council vote, he has no plans to change his building practices.  If the rules are repealed, the only problem he foresees is convincing new clients not to use gas in their buildings, instead of writing off the possibility entirely. 

Scott Kennedy, principal at Cornerstone Architecture echoed Davidson's concerns. Vancouver's decision to implement the restrictions on natural gas use and the city's broader push to electrify buildings has helped force the industry to change its practices, he said. It has also fuelled a boom for people supplying electric appliances. 

For instance, the rules have encouraged suppliers to start bringing in devices that can more efficiently distribute electricity throughout buildings, depending on where there is higher demand. That means when an electric oven is in use, the electric car might receive less charge, and vice-versa. 

The biggest challenge he has encountered building electric-only buildings is replacing gas stoves in commercial kitchens. While Vancouver's current restrictions don't restrict the use of natural gas for cooking, they have made it more complicated and too expensive for many restaurants to install kitchen-only gas lines. 

Still, even that problem can be solved through the use of induction stovetops — a move several Vancouver restaurants have already made. 

"If there's no regulatory push, we're going to build infrastructure that is obsolete," he explained.  "Gas is obsolete. Fossil fuels need to get out of our buildings."