The five-part plan will bring life-saving cooling to at-risk homes, cut City Hall's own fees that punish homeowners’ clean energy choices, and restore climate standards ABC rolled back
VANCOUVER, B.C. on the Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh – Mayoral Candidate William Azaroff and OneCity Vancouver today announced Built to Last, a five-part plan to make Vancouver's homes and public buildings safer in extreme heat, cheaper to heat and cool, and cleaner for the long term.
Azaroff and OneCity’s plan responds directly to the 2021 heat dome, in which the BC Coroners Service found 619 people died across the province between June 25 and July 1 and disproportionately impacted older adults, people with chronic health conditions, and people living alone without cooling.
"Six hundred and nineteen of our neighbours died because they didn't have a way to stay cool in their own home," said William Azaroff, OneCity's candidate for Mayor. "We must treat people as more than statistics."
OneCity’s Built to Last includes:
Heat Pump Cost Reductions – Under the City's current 2026 fee schedule, replacing a gas appliance with another gas appliance costs as little as $67 in permit fees, while switching to a low-carbon, efficient heat pump costs roughly $767 once mechanical and electrical permits are combined. OneCity will introduce a flat, low-cost, and streamlined heat pump permitting pathway for homeowners so choosing clean energy never costs more than sticking with gas.
Direct Install Cooling Program – The City will directly install cooling, air filtration, and heat pumps in the homes of Vancouver's highest-risk residents, rather than relying on cooling centres and onerous rebate paperwork. A OneCity progressive government will address the roughly 500 high-risk homes at an estimated gross cost of $4 to $7.5 million, with net City costs reduced by stacking BC Hydro, provincial, federal, and non-profit funding.
A City for Solar Power – OneCity will institute a Public Rooftop Solar and Community Energy Program putting solar panels on schools, libraries, and community centres, with community subscription models, modelled on New Westminster's Urban Solar Garden, so renters, co-op residents, and non-profits without a sole roof of their own can still benefit from the power of clean energy.
Restore Climate Leadership in Buildings – OneCity will reverse ABC's slashing of the green retrofit bylaw’s enforcement and their repeal of the ban on gas-powered hot water systems. OneCity will also restore the zero-emissions heating requirement for new low-rise buildings that was in place from January 2022 until ABC's rollback.
Clean Energy for Vancouver Buildings – OneCity will action this comprehensive five-part program including topped-up BC Hydro solar and battery incentives, restored replacement requirements for aging gas equipment, a low-income retrofit program modelled on the success of Edmonton’s, and expanded thermal energy networks like the City's own False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility.
"Ken Sim and ABC are forcing Vancouver families to pay out of their own pockets for his poor choice to double down on gas infrastructure,” said Azaroff. "In a time when many of our neighbours don’t have any cash to spare. Our plan, Built to Last, makes it more affordable and easy for families to build safer, more energy efficient homes.”
Under OneCity’s Built to Last plan, Council will move urgently to formally identify every climate rollback made under ABC within the first three months of taking office, reinstate retrofit and compliance funding in the 2027 budget, and enact bylaw and permitting changes in 2027–2028.
