BY-LAW NO. 10908 A By-law to regulate the …

1 BY-LAW NO. 10908 A BY-LAW to regulate the construction of buildings and related matters and to adopt the British Columbia building Code THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VANCOUVER, in public meeting, enacts as follows: SECTION 1 ADOPTION OF building CODE AND INTERPRETATION Adoption of building Code Council adopts the British Columbia building Code (the building Code ) established under Ministerial Order No. M188/2012 as the British Columbia building Code Regulation, Reg 264/2012, including all subsequent amendments, and incorporates the building Code into this BY-LAW to the extent and subject to the changes set out in this BY-LAW . Name of BY-LAW The name of this BY-LAW , for citation, is the building BY-LAW . Table of contents The table of contents for this BY-LAW is for convenient reference only, and is not for use in interpreting or enforcing this BY-LAW . Changes to building Code Council: (a) strikes out Code only where it appears in the building Code in reference to the building Code, and substitutes BY-LAW ; (b) strikes out British Columbia building Code wherever it appears in the building Code, and substitutes BY-LAW ; (c) strikes out British Columbia Fire Code wherever it appears in the building Code, and substitutes Fire BY-LAW ; (d) strikes out authority having jurisdiction wherever it appears in the building Code, and substitutes Chief building Official ; (e) strikes out construction wherever it appears and substitutes construction ; (f) strikes out % wherever it appears and substitutes per cent ; (g) strikes out the words fire fighter , fire fighters , fire fighter s , fire-fighters , fire-fighter , and fire-fighter s wherever they occur and substitutes firefighter , firefighters and firefighter s as the case may be.

2 (h) strikes out sprinkler system wherever it appears and substitutes sprinkler system ; and 1 SCHEDULE 1 SCHEDULE OF CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO THE building CODE Book I building BY-LAW Division Reference BCBC Insertion location Book I building BY-LAW Unique to Vancouver Text Preface Preface Preface Strike out Preface and substitute: Preface The 2014 building BY-LAW (hereinafter the building BY-LAW ) is an objective-based code which identifies the minimum standard in the City of Vancouver for buildings to which this BY-LAW applies. This building BY-LAW replaces the 2007 building BY-LAW and also contains certain transition provisions which apply to permits issued under the 2007 building BY-LAW . The building BY-LAW is regularly updated and users should ensure that the BY-LAW is current. The building BY-LAW is substantially based on the British Columbia building Code and British Columbia Plumbing Code, which in turn is substantially based on the model National building Code of Canada 2010 and the model National Plumbing Code of Canada 2010.

3 The building BY-LAW establishes minimum standards to meet the following five objectives, which are fully described in Division A of the BY-LAW : safety health accessibility for persons with disabilities fire and structural protection of buildings energy and water efficiency The building BY-LAW establishes standards for building materials, products and assemblies. Some standards are explicitly provided in the building BY-LAW while others are incorporated by reference to existing standards for materials products and assemblies which are developed and published by specialist organizations. Organization of the building BY-LAW A consistent organization system has been used in the building BY-LAW . The BY-LAW is divided into Divisions which are designated by alphabetical letters. Divisions are divided into numbered Parts; each Part is divided into Sections; Sections are divided into Subsections; and Subsections are divided into Articles. Articles are divided into Sentences, which are delineated by numbers in brackets.

4 Sentences may be further broken down into Clauses and Subclauses, delineated respectively by letters and roman numerals in brackets. This organization system is illustrated as follows: 2 Division B 3 Part Section Subsection Article (2) Sentence (2)(a) Clause (2)(a)(i) Subclause Divisions of the BY-LAW are identified either: by the letters A, B or C preceding the Part (ex. (2)(a)(i)), or by specifying the Division after the code reference (ex. (2)(a)(i) of Division B) Use of the term Reserved The term reserved is used in the building BY-LAW in place of provisions from the National Codes which have not been adopted in the BY-LAW . Term reserved is used so that the numbering structure of the building BY-LAW aligns with the model National Code of Canada 2010 and the model National Plumbing Code of Canada 2010, for ease of comparison and possible future harmonization.

5 Change Indication Every effort has been made to identify technical changes or additions relative to the 2006 edition of the British Columbia building and Plumbing Codes. In the printed version, these changes or additions are enclosed by angle brackets wherever practical. The online version of the British Columbia building and Plumbing Codes ( ) contains additional functionality with regards to identifying changes from the previous edition. No change indication is provided for renumbered or deleted provisions. Every effort has been made to identify technical changes or additions relative to the 2006 edition of the British Columbia building and Plumbing Codes. In the printed version, these changes or additions are enclosed by angle brackets wherever practical. The online version of the British Columbia building and Plumbing Codes ( ) contains additional functionality with regards to identifying changes from the previous edition. No change indication is provided for renumbered or deleted provisions.

6 Unique to Vancouver Indication All text in the BY-LAW that is unique to Vancouver is enclosed with { } brackets wherever practical. This identifier was utilized to provide the user of the BY-LAW with a means by which to differentiate the Vancouver provisions of this BY-LAW from those of the 2012 British Columbia 3 building and Plumbing Codes. Where the provisions of Vancouver have required the deletion of the 2012 British Columbia building and Plumbing Code text, and no Vancouver text has replaced the deleted text, the word Deleted has been used to alert the user that a deletion has been made and that there is a difference from the 2012 British Columbia building and Plumbing Codes text. Intent and Application Statements The intent statements pertaining to the National building and Plumbing Codes, which also pertain to the building BY-LAW , are available, free of charge, on the national codes website at As those substantive parts of the building BY-LAW which are not unique to Vancouver are identical to the National model Codes, users may consult the national website to access intent statements.

7 The application statements for the 2010 National building , Fire and Plumbing Codes have not been updated as the Canadian Commission on building and Fire Codes discontinued their publication. In view of these developments at the national level, the building BY-LAW does not include application statements. Metric Conversion All values in the building BY-LAW are given in metric units. A conversion table of imperial equivalents for the most common units used in building design and construction is located at the end of the BY-LAW . Acknowledgements and Copyright Copyright 2012 Province of British Columbia (portions) Copyright 2012 National Research Council (portions) All rights reserved. This Publication contains material that is copyrighted by the National Research Council of Canada and reproduced herein under a license agreement. This Publication also contains material that is copyrighted by the Province of British Columbia. No part of that material may be reproduced without written permission from the Province of British Columbia and the National Research Council.

8 For more information, please contact the Intellectual Property Program for British Columbia. Intellectual Property Program PO Box 9412 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9V1 Website: Email: Phone: (250) 356-1339 Requests for permission to reproduce the unique to Vancouver provisions of the BY-LAW must be sent to: 4 Code Development Engineer Office of the Chief building Official Community Service 453 West 12th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4 The provincial government welcomes comments and suggestions for improvements to the building Code and Plumbing Code. Comments and suggestions can be sent to: building and Safety Standards Branch Office of Housing and construction Standards 614 Humboldt Street PO Box 9844 Stn Prov Govt Victoria BC V8W 9T2 Email: Persons interested in the development of the National Codes, the model document for the British Columbia building Code and Plumbing Code and for the building BY-LAW , can contact: The Secretary Canadian Commission on building and Fire Codes Institute for Research in construction National Research Council of Canada Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6 Website: A (1) Clause (l) Add or removed after relocated and or removal after relocation A (1) In Sentence (1) Strike out and at the end of Clause (n).

9 Strike out . and substitute , at the end of Clause (o). After Clause (o) add: p) the design and construction of a marina, q) the alteration of a marina, and r) retaining structures greater than m in height. A (2) In Subclause (f)(iii) Strike out Subclause (iii) and substitute Deleted A (2) At the end of Clause (g) Strike out and A (2) At the end of Clause (h) Strike out . and substitute , A (2) After Clause Add: 5 (h) i) an existing one-family dwelling located on a parcel which is the subject of an application to subdivide into strata lots, if i) the minimum distance between the existing one-family dwelling and the proposed new strata lot boundaries complies with the applicable spatial separation requirements in Part 3 or 9 of Division B, and ii) there is no renovation or change in use of the existing one-family dwelling, j) an existing one-family dwelling or one-family dwelling with secondary suite located on a parcel which is the subject of an application for a building permit to construct a laneway house if there is no renovation or change in use of the existing one-family dwelling or one-family dwelling with secondary suite, k) a noncombustible container used only for storage of emergency supplies and required by the City s Emergency Social Services Program if i) the building area of the container is no more than 15 m2, ii)

10 The container is located at least 3 m from any building , and iii) the location of the container does not obstruct the exit path of an existing building and the firefighter s access path to an existing building , l) structures necessary for the operation of a public bike share station if the public bike share station i) does not interfere with any public works, public facilities or public amenities, ii) does not include any enclosed structures, iii) is located at least 3 m from any building , and iv) does not obstruct the exit path of an existing building and the firefighter s access path to an existing building . A (5) In Sentence (5) Strike out Sentence (5) and substitute: 5) Where an existing heritage building is altered, the alternative compliance methods for heritage buildings in Section of Division B and the alternative acceptable solutions in Sentence (6) may be substituted for the requirements contained elsewhere in this BY-LAW . 6) Alternative acceptable solutions to assist in the rehabilitation of existing buildings in Section of Division B may be substituted for the requirements contained elsewhere in this BY-LAW if the conditions for using the alternatives have been met.