Home builders may ask council to reconsider on solar bylaw

Jeremy Deutsch - Kamloops This Week Published: December 09, 2011 12:00 PM
  The local home builders association is considering its options following a decision by city council to introduce regulations requiring new single-family homes built in Kamloops be solar hot-water ready. Members of the Canadian Home Builders Association-Central Interior will meet next week to formulate a response to the new regulations.  CHBA-CI president Brian Hayashi wouldn't rule out the possibility the organization will ask council to reconsider its decision.  In any case, he said, the CHBA needs to work with the city.  "I think we're looking for ways that we can mitigate the situation as much as possible," Hayashi said.  In a 5-4 vote on Tuesday, Dec. 6, city council approved a bylaw that will ensure every new home and secondary suite be outfitted with solar hot-water capability. The new regulation does not require every new home to come with a solar hot-water heater. It requires the infrastructure to add a heater if the homeowner chooses to install solar panels. It costs an estimated $500 to $1,000 to make a home solar-ready, but between $6,000 and $8,000 to actually install the solar panels. The CHBA and the city's own building department opposed the regulations, which council passed following a motion by Coun. Nancy Bepple.