City of Gatineau to form a working group to develop standards in order to regulate structures insulated with straw bales

Click here to read the 21 June 2005 Press Release from the City of Gatineau (only available in French)

On 21 June 2005, the new City of Gatineau announced in a press release its intention to create a working group to protect and support citizens wanting to construct a structure insulated with straw bales within Gatineau territory. This working group, which should be formed shortly will have as its mandate to analyze techniques for insulating walls with straw bales and to establish standards and conditions appropriate for this type of construction in order to authorize it within Gatineau territory. It is unclear if, in the meantime, a moratorium on this type of constuction will be in effect, nor is it clear who will be on the working group.

You will recall that on 26 April 2005, the new City of Gatineau adopted the first draft of Construction Regulation No. 504-2005 containing a clause prohibiting the construction of straw bale structures throughout Gatineau territory. The new clause of the second and essentially final draft of the Regulation, adopted by the Municipal Council on 28 June 2005, does not contain the paragraph explicitly prohibiting the use of a "non traditional wall system composed of straw bales or earthen walls, in assembling the wall of a structure." Here is the text of the clause, which can also be found on the City of Gatineau website (though only in French currently) by clicking here:

The previous draft of these construction regulations was subjected to a single day of public consultations on 18 May 2005 (click here for details on this public consultation). An active advocacy campaign was launched in the weeks following the adoption in principle of these regulations on 26 April 2005. A media campaign also took off, and included an excellent article by journalist Simon Diotte in the Mon Toit section of the Montreal newspaper, La Presse on 28 May 2005, as well as a radio documentary by Josée Guérin aired on the Radio-Canada (CBC) Outaouais show Fréquence on 15 June 2005 (click here to listen to it).

On 26 May 2005, Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha met Yves Ducharme, Mayor of Gatineau, and his assistant David Leclerc. The meeting was productive and Mr. Ducharme explained that our message was clear to them, in part because of the huge number of e-mails his office received daily from all over Canada and abroad strongly criticizing the proposed Regulations of 26 April 2005.

So, our e-mail campaign yielded fruit...THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ASSISTED BY SENDING E-MAILS...but the battle is far from won.

False promises and smoke in the eyes

We have not forgotten that the City of Gatineau has led us astray in the past. In November 2004, we found out about the proposed regulations for the new City of Gatineau and began to mobilize community support to prevent the banning of straw bale structures in Gatineau. Dozens of forms indicating disapproval with the ban were sent to the Urban Planning Department of the City of Gatineau.

On 1 February 2005, four officials from the Urban Planning Department of the City of Gatineau agreed to meet with us and Archibio (Pascal Morel and Michel Bergeron) to discuss straw bale construction. We did a comprehensive presentation that seemed to convince them there was no reason to ban straw bale construction. We were given the impression that they would recommend to the consultants hired to consolidate the municipal regulations that the ban be removed from the construction regulations, at least for straw bale structures with a wood frame.

From this moment on, the process was kept secret and we were not allowed to see the final text of the regulations. We were nonetheless optimistic. This was an error, as it seems our meeting with the officials was simply a smokescreen. The final text of the regulations, including the clause pertaining to straw bale construction, was adopted on 26 April 2005, and made public on 27 April 2005. It was altered but did not take into account at all our concerns or recommendations. The ban was maintained.

The hypocrisy of “partial acceptance”

The City of Gatineau then claimed it had “partially accepted” the request of residents who had filled out forms because, despite the clear prohibition of straw bale construction on Gatineau territory, such buildings would be allowed if one followed the procedure for a “special construction project” (projet particulier de construction) in the Act Respecting Land Use Planning and Development Such projects might be authorized only after a long and complex procedure after which the final decision would still be at the complete discretion of the City. It was inaccurate and highly misleading to claim that this procedure was a “partially acceptance” because according to the facts the message was clear: Gatineau did not straw bale constuction; the Regulations could not have been more clear.

The message from the City of Gatineau was:

• Innovative ecological building techniques such as straw bale construction would not be welcome on Gatineau territory - or officially allowed.
• If one were to absolutely insist on using such a technique, it might be allowed, but the City intended to make it as difficult as possible for one to obtain approval, and there would be no guarantee one would get approval even if the building would meet or surpasses municipal, provincial and federal building code requirements.

A backward ban that goes against the current

In November 2004, the Government of Quebec announced a significant inter-departmental initiative in support of sustainable development.  In fact, straw bale homes are one of the best examples of construction promoting sustainable development:

1) The straw used in the walls would likely otherwise be burned, thus increasing CO2 emissions.

2) Straw is a renewable material; it is natural and healthy and does not emit volatile organic compounds. Thus, the interior air quality of such buildings is exceptionally healthy, especially for persons who are hyper sensitive to chemical products.

3) Straw has an exceptional insulation factor (minimum R-28, but generally R-40+, compared to about R-14 for conventional construction), which makes the building warm in winter and cool in summer, thus limiting energy costs.

According to Pascal Morel of Archibio, an ecological habitat intervention group, "straw bale construction is an exemplary approach to ecological construction, in terms of reducing the impact on resources, energy consumption, production of waste, other pollution, and improving human health, all the while providing an optimal quality of life for the occupants. At the end of its exceptional life cycle, such a house will leave a minimum of dangerous products in nature." (P. Morel, "La maison en ballots de paille", La maison du 21e siècle, vol. 11, no. 4, Autumn 2004, p. 22).

Updated 8 July 2005