PoCo roofs could be going green
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - June 6, 2006 - Port Coquitlam's future is looking green.
A zoning bylaw amendment brought forward at Thursday night's community and economic development committee meeting proposes green roofs for very large commercial and industrial buildings.
If the amendment is approved by council, green roofs - engineered roof
systems planted with vegetation - would be required for all buildings with
a footprint larger than 5,000 square meters (53,820 square feet).
Director of development services Kim Fowler said green roofs are only one
component of a larger sustainability initiative with several components,
including a sustainability checklist, city land sale strategy and a green
building and social incentive policy.
"It all fits together," Fowler said. "It's not just one thing, it's all part of an overall strategy."
A staff report states that green roofs are currently encouraged by council policy, but unless there is a requirement or incentive, it is unlikely buildings will have them because of higher initial cost.
The installation cost is higher than a regular roof, but research has proven that over the long term that green roofs offer substantial benefits, such as lower heating and cooling costs. In the summer, the roofs protect the building from direct solar heat and in the winter they minimize heat loss through added insulation.
The green roof would cover at least 75 per cent of the entire roof, excluding
areas covered by mechanical equipment.
Green roofs have become commonplace in cities such as Vancouver, where
a green roof is one of the top three things the city wants to see in new
developments.
Port Coquitlam is interested in the environmental benefits of green roofs,
including intercepting and reducing stormwater runoff, improving building
thermal performance and energy consumption and reducing the "urban
heat island" effect.
A secondary benefit is enhanced views where homes or offices overlook the
roofs.
The staff report states that policies in the official community plan promote protection of the natural environment and environmentally responsible development, including consideration of low impact development standards for implementation, such as green roofs.
One reason for bringing the idea forward in PoCo, Fowler said, is that
there are 150 acres of industrial designated land left for development
in the Dominion Triangle. Big box stores, such as Wal-Mart and Rona, will
likely be part of that mix.
"You can see quite the huge impact that those existing big boxes have
visually and their impact environmentally is quite significant," Fowler
said.
Currently Port Coquitlam is home to box stores Costco, Home Depot and
Save-On-Foods. Fowler said those stores, and any other existing stores
the same size, will be given a non-conforming designation, and will not
be required to change over to green roofs.
Even if there is a significant renovation of such an existing building,
Fowler said, a green roof will not be necessary. Existing businesses
can also maintain and replace their current roofs.
The committee had the option to recommend proceeding with the bylaw amendment, request additional information or advice, request a different version of the zoning amendment or reject the proposal.
The results of the committee meeting were not available until after The NOW's deadlines.
For more information about green roofs, visit the B.C. Institute of Technology Centre for the Advancement of Green Roof Technology's website at www.greenroof.bcit.ca.
By Jennifer Saltman - Staff Reporter
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