Letterbox: Coquitlam’s delay hurts climate goals, sacrifices livability

In this letter-to-the-editor, environmentalist and former council candidate Benjamin Perry argues Coquitlam made a costly mistake in failing to fast-track a policy intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in new buildings.

Dear editor,

On Monday night, Coquitlam City Council missed an opportunity to accelerate the most practical and effective climate measure available to the city.

As a policy, the Zero Carbon Step Code is clearly a positive move for cities. It costs the taxpayer nothing, does not meaningfully impact housing prices or availability, and improves everyday livability by delivering safer, more comfortable homes — including built-in cooling as summers grow hotter.

During the debate, Coquitlam city staff were clear: there are no supply-chain barriers, cost impacts are minimal (estimated at 0–1 percent), and housing delivery would not be slowed.

They also noted that neighbouring municipalities have already accelerated this policy without issue.

As those practical concerns were addressed, the objections from members of council shifted away from the staff report itself. Some members of council made esoteric arguments about topics including global trade, nostalgia for unrelated uses of natural gas, and abstract calls for balance — none of which explained why Coquitlam should lag behind cities it competes with for housing and investment.

The final decision came as a vote on an amendment to remove the accelerated timeline from the staff recommendation. Couns. Teri Towner, Craig Hodge, Robert Mazzarolo, and Matt Djonlic voted against that amendment, seeing the practicality of moving faster when evidence showed it was feasible, affordable, and already working in Metro Vancouver municipalities. The five other votes overrode the expert opinion developed by over a year of technical review and consultation by staff.

Council chose delay. That decision leaves Coquitlam out of step with regional standards and locks in buildings that may require costly retrofits for heating and cooling in the decades ahead.

Benjamin Perry
Coquitlam resident