Definitions

1   In this bylaw:

"adequate radio coverage" means system access and delivered audio quality (DAQ) of at least 3.4 for communication between E-Comm 9-1-1 and the user of a portable radio with a standard whip antenna;

"building" has the same meaning as in the Building Bylaw;

"building official" has the same meaning as in the Building Bylaw;

"E-Comm 9-1-1" means E-Comm Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated and is the public safety communications service provider for the City;

"farm operation" has the same meaning as in the Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act;

"fire chief" has the same meaning as in the Fire Service Bylaw;

"fire department" has the same meaning as in the Fire Service Bylaw;

"fire safety plan" has the same meaning as in the Fire Service Bylaw;

"gross floor area" means the sum of the area of each floor of a building including exterior walls;

"occupancy permit" means the permission or authorization in writing by the building official to occupy a building or structure;

"owner" includes the registered owner of an estate in fee simple of land, and as applicable:

(a) a tenant for life under a registered life estate;

(b) a registered holder of an agreement for sale;

(c) a holder or occupier of land held in the manner set out in sections 228 and 229 of the Community Charter; and

(d) a lessee with authority to build on the land;

"permit" means authorization in writing by the building official to perform construction regulated by the Building Bylaw;

"shadowed area" means an area in a building or structure that suffers attenuation or obstruction of radio signals to or from the area because of the interference of all or any part of the building or structure in the radio signal path between the area and E-Comm 9-1-1's transmitting or receiving site;

"structure" has the same meaning as in the Building Bylaw;

"UPS" is an acronym for uninterruptible power supply as described in section 9 uninterruptible power supply.

Interpretation

2   The Interpretation Bylaw applies to this bylaw.

Application

3   Except as otherwise provided, this bylaw applies to all buildings and structures within the City.

Permit and occupancy

4   (1) A permit must not be issued for any building or structure until the owner has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the building official how compliance with this bylaw will be achieved.

(2) An occupancy permit must not be issued for any building containing an amplification system until the requirements of this bylaw have been met to the satisfaction of the fire chief and building official.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the installation of an amplification system is exempted under this bylaw.

Adequate radio coverage

5   (1) All buildings and structures must maintain adequate radio coverage of

(a) at least 90% in each floor of the building or structure, including underground areas,

(b) 100% in fire command centres, stairwells, protect-in-place areas, lobby refuge areas, equipment rooms and high-hazard areas, and

(c) at least 90% in the shadowed areas where adequate radio coverage could have been achieved before the erection, construction or modification of the building or structure.

Radio frequency

6   (1) The radio frequency range used in a building or structure must be frequencies used by E-Comm 9-1-1's network.

(2) If signal amplifiers are required to achieve the radio frequency referred to in subsection (1), signal amplifiers must include filters.

Amplification systems

7   (1) Amplification systems may be installed to achieve adequate radio coverage in a building or structure.

(2) Where a building or structure requires an amplification system to achieve adequate radio coverage, the amplification system must include any of the following:

(a) passive antenna systems or radiating cable systems;

(b) distributed antenna systems with uni-directional or bi-directional amplifiers, as needed;

(c) voting receiver systems;

(d) any other system approved in writing by the fire chief.

Enclosures

8   All amplifiers and electronics used in an amplification system must be protected by National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) type 4 or higher enclosures.

Uninterruptible power supply

9   (1) If any part of an amplification system contains an electrically powered component, the system must be equipped to operate on an independent UPS.

(2) A UPS required under this section must

(a) be capable of operating for at least 2 hours without external power or maintenance,

(b) use a battery system or generator system,

(c) automatically charge the batteries referred to in paragraph (b), if applicable, in the presence of external power, and

(d) provide a monitored alarm signal to indicate failure of primary power, failure of the UPS system power output or discharge of the batteries.

(3) The owner must cause a qualified person to silence the alarm referred to in subsection (2) (c), as needed.

(4) The owner must notify the fire department of any failure or discharge referred to in subsection (2) (c) immediately upon the failure being detected, but not later than 2 hours after the initial failure occurred.

(5) An alarm referred to in subsection (2) (c) must

(a) consist of a relay contact closure or equivalent, and

(b) be connected to the building fire panel by way of a hard-wired connection.

Poor performance

10   If alarms detect poor battery condition or poor amplifier performance, the owner must remedy the condition or performance immediately.

E-Comm 9-1-1

11   (1) If an amplification system degrades E-Comm 9-1-1's outdoor radio communication performance, E-Comm 9-1-1 may

(a) maintain E-Comm 9-1-1's outdoor radio communication performance at the expense of adequate radio coverage in the building or structure, or

(b) maintain adequate radio coverage in the building or structure at the expense of E-Comm 9-1-1's outdoor radio communication performance.

(2) If E-Comm 9-1-1 takes steps referred to in subsection (1), the owner must notify the fire chief of the decision.

Licensing

12   (1) All active amplification systems must

(a) be licensed by Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada (ISED), and

(b) comply with the applicable standard radio systems plan.

(2) The owner of an active amplification system must

(a) renew all licenses annually, and

(b) pay the cost of licenses.

Equipment

13   Any equipment used in an amplification system must be selected only from the ISED radio equipment list as described on the Government of Canada website.

Acceptance and annual tests

14   (1) The owner must conduct an acceptance test and an annual test on all active components of an amplification system, including but not limited to amplifiers and backup batteries and power supplies.

(2) For the purposes of this section,

(a) acceptance test means testing that occurs before an amplification system is used, and

(b) annual test means testing that occurs annually.

(3) Acceptance tests and annual tests must be

(a) conducted in a manner acceptable to the fire chief,

(b) paid for by the owner, and

(c) performed using radio frequencies assigned by E-Comm 9-1-1, after coordination with E-Comm 9-1-1, the fire chief and the chief constable of the Abbotsford police department.

(4) Backup batteries and power supplies must be tested under full load by generating communication traffic automatically.

(5) While under full load, backup batteries and power supplies must show no symptom failure or impending failure

(a) for a continuous two-hour period during an acceptance test, and

(b) for a continuous one-hour period during an annual test.

Qualifications of testing personnel

15   (1) Tests referred to in section 14 must be performed by or under the direct supervision of a professional engineer.

(2) Professional engineers referred to in subsection (1) must

(a) be registered in the Province of British Columbia,

(b) be qualified in radio communications,

(c) complete a test certificate after verifying tests referred to in section 14, and

(d) keep a copy of all test certificates referred to in paragraph (c) in the applicable fire safety plan.

(3) Test certificates referred to in subsection (2) (c) must bear the seal of the engineer referred to in subsection (1).

Exemptions

16   (1) Subject to this section and section 18, this bylaw does not apply to the following:

(a) any single-family detached or semi-detached residence;

(b) any building or structure constructed entirely of wood frame with no metal cladding and with no low-e reflective glass;

(c) any building or structure with a gross floor area less than 5,000 square metres; or

(d) any building or structure used for a farm operation that qualifies for protection under section 2 of the Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act.

(2) The exemptions listed in subsection (1) do not apply to any building or structure that has

(a) more than 1,000 metres of gross floor area below grade, or

(b) a floor area that is more than 10 metres below grade.

(3) This bylaw does not apply to any building or structure that has been granted an exemption under section 17 fire chief or building official may grant exemptions.

Fire chief or building official may grant exemptions

17   (1) The fire chief or building official may grant an exemption to the application of any or part of this bylaw.

Right of entry

18   (1) The fire chief or building official may enter and inspect any building or structure to ascertain whether the provisions of this bylaw are being obeyed.

(2) Every owner or occupant of a building must, at all reasonable times, allow the fire chief or building official to enter a building or structure for the purposes of subsection (1).

Prohibition

19   Except as otherwise provided, a person must not erect, construct, change the use of, or renovate any building or structure or any part thereof, or cause the same to be done, which degrades the adequate radio coverage of a building or structure.

Commencement

20   This bylaw comes into force

(a) with respect to every building or structure for which an application for a permit is submitted and accepted by the City before January 1, 2024, on the earlier of

(i) the day after an occupancy permit has been issued in respect of the building or structure, and

(ii) the day after the permit application has been cancelled in accordance with the Building Bylaw, and

(b) with respect to all other buildings and structures, on January 1, 2024.