It was the Multi-Centre that pushed them to lead the way – now Quesnel is setting the global wood standard.
City Council adopted a wood first bylaw in May 2010 – the first community in B.C. to do so.
Bylaw No. 1675 enforces the Wood First program that promotes the use of wood as a primary building material in the design and construction of city-funded buildings.
This means primary building materials made of wood must be used as a structural component or as a major architectural component in the design of a facility.
The wood that can be used in construction may include but is not limited to lumber, plywood, orientated strandboard, trusses, preservative treated wood, glulams and engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber.
Local wood products means the wood product is produced, can be produced, or is available for purchase within a 75 km radius of the city of Quesnel.
If the outlined criteria are not met to create a wood first building, a proposal may be disqualified – hence the appeal for the Multi-Centre.
“It’s yet another part of the Multi-Centre project that makes it desirable for federal and provincial funding,” Sjostrom said.
Quesnel isn’t the city with wood on the brain; since the province introduced the Wood First Act, 33 communities have adopted a policy or bylaw promoting wood first.
Now, communities south of the border are looking to B.C. as a model.
Monday, Jobs Tourism and Innovation Minister Pat Bell was invited to share the successes of the province’s wood first momentum with the Oregon Legislature.
Oregon State’s Wood First Bill is modelled on B.C.’s Wood First Act that was implemented in October 2009.
The Wood First Act requires wood be considered as the primary building material in all new provincially-funded buildings, in a manner consistent with the British Columbia building code.
Considering wood first is an effective way to generate demand for wood products, while promoting climate-friendly construction and supporting forest-dependent communities.
“Governments on both sides of the border can lead by example by making wood their preferred choice for public buildings,” Bell said.
“With wood used in just 15 per cent of commercial and institutional construction – where wood is allowed – we have a major opportunity to expand the market for wood products.”
“It’s really exciting,” Sjostrom added, more than 100 buildings are being designed or being built in B.C. as a result of the act.
If passed, Oregon’s Wood First Bill applies to buildings funded by the state on or after July 1, 2012.