Official Community Plan

C

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MEETING OUR GOALS THROUGH BUILDINGS AND LANDSCAPE

When designed well, architecture can be beautiful, can inspire, and can minimize the building and occupant's ecological footprints. When designed poorly, architecture can exclude, can become a blight, and can be wasteful in materials and performance. OCP policies can establish high quality architectural design expectations, while also reducing building emissions and energy bills through well thought-out development and better energy efficiency and emissions standards. For existing buildings, energy and emissions modelling shows that the greatest energy and emissions reductions can be made by switching building space heating systems to heat pumps (particularly for existing non electrical heat systems), electrifying water heaters, and retrofitting older homes and commercial buildings to higher energy efficiency performance. Combined, these efforts can reduce Courtenay’s buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050 while making buildings more comfortable, providing better air quality, and lowering energy costs. New buildings present an opportunity to ensure that energy and emissions performance are designed in right from the beginning, thus immediately contributing to climate action goals and avoiding the need to retrofit or switch energy sources at a later date.

This includes design features such as green roofs and renewable energy systems on larger buildings, biodiverse and watershed sensitive landscapes, and passive design features to increase natural ventilation and accommodate natural light or shade depending on the season. Because redevelopment of existing properties will be an important part of accommodating Courtenay's growth, management of construction and demolition waste will be an important part of Courtenay's future. Wherever possible, the City will encourage the disassembly and reuse of construction materials. As existing buildings are renovated or redeveloped, and new buildings meet efficiency and performance standards, Courtenay's buildings will become increasingly accessible, electric, healthy, and affordable to operate, while reflecting Courtenay's character, identity, and sense of place.

PART C Thematic Policies