The City’s final plan for the Central Green (old KSS site) has many desirable features, such as an abundance of open space and a moderate amount of affordable housing, but environmental sustainability isn’t one of them. Touted as a showcase for sustainability, this project falls far short of what is desirable and necessary, particularly from the standpoint of energy consumption, because it has high-rise buildings as part of its plan.
It is a little known fact, but one that has been revealed by studies in Canada, the U.S., Great Britain and Australia, that high-rises consume more energy than any other type of housing, In a recent study, the CMHC estimates that the annual energy consumption of a typical high-rise unit is about 25% greater than that of an average single family house and more than 50% greater than an R2000 house on a per unit basis. Therefore, the 445 high-rise residential units proposed in the Central Green plan would consume more energy than 445 single family homes.
High-rises use an excessive amount of energy because of extraordinary heating and cooling needs posed by the exposure of their large building envelopes to cold winds in the winter and the hot sun in the summer without the protective presence of any natural sheltering. They also have wasteful lighting that is on 24/7 in hallways, stairwells, lobbies, and elevators.
In 2006 the Strategic Sustainability Planning Committee of the Vancouver City Planning Commission established a 4 to 8 storey range for building heights in order to optimize sustainability. This incorporates the desirability of compactness in urban form while avoiding the energy wastefulness of high-rise buildings. If the City is genuine about making Kelowna sustainable from an energy standpoint and not just using that term as an empty slogan, it shouldn’t be building any structures higher than 8 storeys.
