Green Building Law Blog : Green Building Lawyer & Attorney : Shari Shapiro: Calliope Communications, LLC

On May 27, Toronto adopted a mandatory green roof bylaw, requiring green roofs on commercial, residential and industrial property. In summary, the bylaw requires

Up to 50 per cent green roof coverage on multi-unit residential dwellings over six storeys, schools, non-profit housing, commercial and industrial buildings. Larger residential projects require greater green roof coverage, ranging anywhere from 20 to 50 per cent of the roof area.

The mandatory nature of Toronto's green roof law kicked up a storm of controversy, with many developers objecting to the increased costs.

According to the Globe and Mail

Steve Daniels, a development planner with the Tridel Group, said a green roof can cost $18 to $28 a square foot on a typical tall condominium building, meaning an extra $200,000 to $400,000, plus maintenance costs.

The question remains: how effective are green building mandates in improving environmental outcomes like improving energy efficiency, water use, etc. ? Are they better than incentives? Less effective? To date, there is no study available on the regulatory effectiveness of green building mandates.  Such analysis needs to be undertaken soon before more requirements--which may or may not be the most effective means of acheiving environmental goals--are enacted.

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The New York Times reported that Toronto was mulling a mandatory green roof by-law.  Developers in Toronto objected to the green roof mandate, arguing:

 that it would scare away investment due to the high cost of green roofs. Saying green roof installation should be voluntary, building industry representatives told The Globe and Mail that such add-ons could increase construction costs by $18 to $28 a square foot.

In Philadelphia, City Councilman Curtis Jones proposed tying an already existing  ten-year property tax abatement to green building requirements.  Building Industry advocates and Mayor Nutter's office made the same argument that the Toronto developers put forward:

"Restricting the abatement program . . . would likely have the effect of inhibiting development when we need it most," Andrew Altman, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, told Council this month. 

The trouble with these arguments is that they are exactly that---arguments with no basis in fact.  The problem? No facts.  There is no study which can be pointed to, no analysis which has been done which attempts to quantify the effect of green building regulation on development.  Do green building regulations inhibit development? Do they encourage green development? No one really knows for certain. 

In this "money constrained economy" it may be easier for critics of green building regulations to wave the red flag of inhibiting development to prevent further strictures from being put in place.  To effectively counteract this argument, a study needs to be undertaken which compares the development rates in comparable cities which have green building mandates (like Boston or Washington DC) with those that do not.  Controlling for other factors (population, pre-regulation development rates, etc.), it would provide a solid factual foundation for policymaking in this area.

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