Green Roofs - The New Roof
I have always been a fan of green roofs. To see this bylaw passed made my day!
In a May 27th newsletter by Building Design and Construction there was an announcement by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities that the city of Toronto has passed a new green roof by-law with overwhelming support. The green roof by-law consists of a green roof construction standard and a mandatory requirement for green roofs on all classes of new buildings. The by-law requires up to 50% green roof coverage on multi-unit residential dwellings over six stories, schools, non-profit housing, and commercial and industrial buildings. Larger residential projects require greater green roof coverage, ranging anywhere from 20-50% of the roof area.
“Toronto’s by-law provides a new opportunity to strengthen the emerging practice of integrated green building design,” said Steven W. Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which supported the by-law against pressure from developers opposed to the policy. “The by-law breaks new ground on how to structure a mandatory green roof requirement and the construction standard also contains important best practices that may prove to be a model for other cities.”
Chicago remains the city with the largest number of green roofs installed, according to GHRC’s Annual Green Roof Industry Survey released last week. The mandatory by-law in Toronto may change that, resulting in approximately 50 to 75 new projects annually.
Please see www.citiesalive.org for more details!
-JM
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