Further Consultation on Toronto Green Roof By-Law

The City of Toronto is holding further consultations regarding the proposed Green Roof By-Law. These meetings are primarily dealing with the proposals about where the city should require green roofs on new construction (the current proposal is residential buildings with 20,000 m² GFA or more, and industrial/commercial/institutional buildings of 10,000 m² GFA or more).

The corollary document about how green roofs should be constructed — the proposed Toronto Green Roof Construction Guidelines — is still under development. From discussions I’ve had with the city, it seems that many of the points I raised in my last post are being considered. It sounds like some of the prescriptive requirements will be replaced with “best practice” guidelines and recommendations. There may also be some distinction made based on the overall size of the green roof being constructed … something I think is important for small-scale and residential green roofs.

I’m meeting with the city in the next few weeks to find out more about the construction standard and it’s development, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you are interested in attending one of the sessions dealing with the requirement for green roofs on new construction projects, you’ll need to RSVP. Here is the invite with the details, or visit the city’s website at http://toronto.ca/greenroofs/ for more and up-to-date information.

To whom it may concern:

Toronto’s City Planning Division is seeking your input on a proposed Green Roof By-law for the City of Toronto. This by-law, under the new authority of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, would require green roofs on certain types of new buildings and establish a standard for green roof design and construction in Toronto.

In December 2008, City Planning completed the first round of public consultations on where to require green roofs under the proposed Green Roof By-law. Staff considered the feedback received during the consultation period and recommended in a staff report to the January 8, 2009 Planning and Growth Management Committee that further consultation be undertaken and that staff report back to the Committee with a draft by-law in April 2009.

On February 16th and February 27th City Planning will be hosting consultation sessions to hear your comments on proposed options for requiring green roofs in the City of Toronto. You are invited to attend one of these meetings to provide your input on the proposed by-law. Toronto Building staff will also be on hand to provide an update on the Toronto Green Roof Construction Standard.

A third session is scheduled on February 18th to discuss revised proposals for industrial use buildings. This meeting is intended for owners of industrial buildings and industry representatives.

Information on the location of the meetings and a revised proposal to require green roofs will be circulated one week prior to the meeting date to participants who are registered for the session.

To register for the consultation please R.S.V.P. by Monday February 9th to Kerri Unger at [email protected] and indicate which one of the following sessions you wish to attend:

Monday, February 16, 2009
Metro Hall, Room 308
55 John Street, Toronto
2:00 – 5:00 pm

Friday, February 27, 2009
Metro Hall, Room 309
55 John Street, Toronto
2:00 – 5:00 pm

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
(Industrial meeting)
2:00 – 5:00 pm

If you have any further questions please contact Shayna Stott at 416-392-0171.