WHEREAS building and plumbing bylaws are enacted for the purpose of regulating construction within a community in the general public interest; AND WHEREAS the British Columbia Building Code specifies a sound transmission class rating to address airborne sound voices, stereo, television, but the Code has no impact insulation class to address impact sound dropped items, footsteps, as the minimum acceptable value; AND WHEREAS pursuant to Section 101 of the Community Charter, a provision of a municipal bylaw has no effect if it is inconsistent with a provincial enactment: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the British Columbia Building Code and the National Building Code be amended to include the requirement of an impact insulation class to address impact sound in multi-family residential projects for reasons of health, safety, and protection of persons and property.
Ministry of Forests and Range This is an issue that will affect construction across Canada, and research into construction standards to address the situation is being considered for the national building code. British Columbia adopts the provisions of the model national code on which it is based, except where local conditions indicate a variation is required. The BC Building Code and National Building Code address new construction. Existing buildings are subject to the code in effect at time of construction. New code provisions do not apply retroactively to existing buildings.
MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Conservative Government Resolution B57 calls for the two building codes to be amended to include the requirement for an impact insulation class to address impact sound in multi-family projects for reasons of health, safety and protection of persons and properties. The National Building Code of Canada NBCC is under the purview of the National Research Council NRC. Formal requests for changes to the NBCC should be submitted to the NRCs Canadian Codes Centre. An applicant may contact the Codes Centre by e-mail at codesnrc-cnrc.gc.ca or download the necessary information from the NRCs web site at www.nationalcodes.ca. Requests are reviewed and their merits discussed by a Standing Committee before recommendations are made to the Canadian Commissions on Building and Fire Codes for final approval. Provincial and territorial code authorities are notified of all requests for code changes and are involved during each step of the code development process. Changes to the NBCC may be adopted or adapted by provincial and territorial code authorities.