Plumbing Amendments Building By-law
Motion 9 · Council Meeting, June 13, 2023
Summary
- Proposes amendments to the Vancouver Building By-law, Water Works By-law, and By-law Notice Enforcement By-law to simplify plumbing regulations and strengthen public health protections.
- Removes the minimum prescribed drain pipe size for three or more toilets to prevent oversizing and unsanitary conditions, and consolidates "once through cooling" rules solely into the Building By-law.
- Raises the operating permit threshold from 4 to 8 dwelling units for purely residential buildings, reflecting evolving residential building forms, and extends the open-loop geoexchange prohibition to buildings with 8 or fewer units.
- Introduces new Legionella prevention measures, including a mandatory minimum hot water distribution temperature of 49°C (120°F) in new buildings, removal of a conflicting third-party energy standard, and restrictions on drain water heat recovery units.
- Introduces ticketing as an enforcement alternative to court-based prosecution for contraventions of public health significance under the By-law Notice Enforcement By-law.
- Staff recommend all three by-law amendments take effect immediately upon enactment, building on Vancouver's recognized Operating Permit program for Legionella prevention.