The district is laying a path toward creating a future neighbourhood energy utility in Squamish.
At its meeting Tuesday, council passed first and second reading of a subdivision and development control bylaw amendment that will require large buildings downtown, within the Newport Beach Development on the oceanfront and in other waterfront areas be prepared to connect to a district thermal energy system. District energy systems are made up of networks of underground pipes used to heat and cool buildings from a central plant. The systems purportedly use less energy compared with individual boilers and cooling systems in each building.
If adopted, the bylaw will require that buildings provide a mechanical and heating system that can later be connected to a district thermal energy system and have a room to house the necessary equipment.
“In this way, buildings that are constructed between now and the actual implementation of the district thermal energy system will be able to connect when the system is ready,” reads a staff report submitted to council on Tuesday.
The bylaw would only apply to large buildings over 21,500 square feet. The system isn’t viable for smaller buildings, said the district’s Gary Buxton.
Consultants with FVB Energy, a Burnaby company that designs and plans the systems, have been working since November on a report to determine the feasibility of such a system for Squamish, Buxton said. That report is expected sometime this month, he said.
Only Councillor Susan Chapelle voted against the bylaw because she said other communities have found the systems expensive, and the district is asking developers to prepare for something they may never use.
“Putting in infrastructure is incredibly expensive,” Chapelle said.
A previous study done for the district in 2010 found burning biomass was the least expensive neighbourhood energy utility option for Squamish, a method Chapelle does not support, she added.
“You are forcing developers to make a choice on something that is not even studied or feasible yet, so I can’t support this, currently.”
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said the idea is to keep options open for the future. “There’s lots more investigation to do, this is just a very small measure – it is not onerous to a land owner,” she said, “I think this is a very reasonable step.”
An actual energy utility is still years off for Squamish, according to Buxton.
“It is going to take us quite some time to get to that point,” he said.
District staff will be consulting with developers to gather feedback on the bylaw before it comes back to council for further discussion.
