From the Globe:
URBAN OASES
'Green roofs' get watered down
Proposal exempts many buildings from environmental plan, but developers still balk
JEFF GRAY
April 15, 2009
Major developers say a proposed Toronto bylaw mandating environmentally friendly "green roofs" presents a host of problems and should be put off in favour of a voluntary program.
But green-roof advocates also criticized the new draft rules for exempting industrial buildings, non-profit housing, schools, and residential buildings less than 23 metres (about eight storeys) high. It would also exempt buildings with a gross floor area under 5,000 square metres.
The proposed bylaw would mandate specially irrigated rooftop gardens that are said to reduce air-conditioning costs and mitigate the "urban heat island" effect blamed on pavement and dark roofs.
Part of Mayor David Miller's climate-change initiative, the move was deferred for fine tuning yesterday and was to return to a meeting next month of the city's planning and growth committee.
One development industry representative said more talks with city officials are needed and that heeding calls from deputy mayor Joe Pantalone to toughen the bylaw could drive development out of Toronto.
"We need to sit down with city staff to figure out where we're at," said Steve Daniels, a development planner with Deltera Inc. (part of the Tridel Group) and a representative of the Building Industry and Land Development Association.
He said that green roofs could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars - $18 to $28 a square foot - on major condo projects, and warned that the new rules could conflict with existing regulations, such as fire rules in the Ontario Building Code.
But Mr. Daniels said the industry does not oppose the concept of green roofs - an idea that is much more developed in Europe. Advocates claim the roofs could save energy and clean the air.
Steven Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a 10-year-old Toronto-based industry association, warned that the city's proposed bylaw falls well short of moves in New York and other U.S. cities.
"We're very concerned ... that there's been a watering down of these requirements and this will set a very negative precedent for other jurisdictions across North America," Mr. Peck told the planning and growth committee yesterday.
Under Toronto's proposed rules, buildings with gross floor areas of 5,000 to 9,999 square metres would be required to cover only 30 per cent of their roofs with greenery, with that percentage increasing as the footprint gets larger.
Mr. Pantalone, the deputy mayor, also criticized the draft bylaw, saying city council unanimously approved a climate-change policy two years ago that "called for aggressive action, not for tepid, let's step back and see which way the wind is blowing."
Saying he was "surprised and dismayed" at the draft rules, he argued new public housing, schools and industrial buildings, as well as new low-rise buildings on main streets, should be included.
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valkaholic:
And in terms of the benefits of green roof technology, my understanding from 'green people' is that painting your roof white gives most of the befits of a green roof at a fraction of the cost.
That's the so called "cool roofs" - which I think should be an option under the bylaw especially in cases where greenroofs are not practical for structural or other reasons. Not a big fan of the fine itself - which sort of make it conditional. Enforcement should be a relatively simple affair compared to other city initiatives (think coffee cups and street food) - just make it part of site plan approval and have like a one-time verification after built out.
AoD
