New Green Roof Bylaw Passed By City of Toronto

On May 26, 2009 Toronto became the first City in North America to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of green roofs on new development.

The bylaw will apply to all new building permit applications made after January 31, 2010 (residential, commercial and institutional) and January 31, 2011 for all new industrial development.

The new bylaw will be required on all new development above 2,000m² of Gross Floor Area and have a graduated coverage requirement ranging from 20-60%.

In 2009, Toronto is also running an Eco-Roof Incentive Program for green and cool roofs on Toronto’s commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. There are funding rounds in the spring and fall 2009. The application deadline was May 1, 2009 for spring funding. Visit the LiveGreen Toronto website for more program details.

An Eco-roof may be either a green roof that supports vegetation, or a cool roof that reflects the sun’s thermal energy.

During 2006 and 2007 the City of Toronto run a Green Roof Pilot Program, which providing funding for a number of green roof projects. You can see a list of projects with pictures, here: Green Roof Pilot

Benefits of a Green Roof

1. Moderate heat gain, not only for your building, but for the space around you. One German source says a healthy urban climate could be achieved by greening only 5% of all roofs and walls within a city.
2. Cut greenhouse gas emissions by shading buildings, improving insulating value and reducing air conditioning.
3. Reduce smog by absorbing pollutants.
4. Reduces storm water runoff by absorbing much of the rain and delaying the runoff. Thus reducing the risk of sewage overflows and flash floods.
5. Provides increased sound and heating insulation, reducing your heating and cooling cost.
6. Extends the life of the roof membrane by blocking the sun’s UV rays and reducing extreme temperature fluctuations.

Read more: Green Roof

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Filed under: Go Green