Up on the roof

Enviro advocate pitches green skyline for Saanich
Erin Cardone, Saanich News. May 14, 2008

One of the best places to push more green space into Saanich could be where you least expect it: high in the sky, Dean Murdock said.

Murdock, co-chair of the Sierra Club Victoria, says Saanich needs to take a second look at the benefits of rooftop gardens on large-scale developments.

“It’s an opportunity to take action on climate change to re-appropriate some green space in areas where we don’t currently have green space in our labyrinth of asphalt,” he said. “Saanich could include requirements or support for green roofs on (large new) structures.”

Murdock’s suggestions come after City of Richmond staff served a recommendation to its planning committee that greenery on roofs be a requirement to obtain a building permit for new commercial and industrial developments bigger than 2,000 square metres.

There would be two ways to make green roofs a reality in Saanich, said municipal solicitor Chris Nation.

Council could include green roofs as a guideline in the development permit process, but that wouldn’t make the roofs a requirement, just a strong suggestion.

Council could also ask the developer to agree to a covenant that green roofs would be part of the design. Covenants give council more of a guarantee.

First, public input is needed to decide if it’s something that would suit the municipality, said Vicki Sanders, chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee.

“I certainly think it’s a good idea,” Sanders said. “If it’s going to be compulsory, we should take it to the Environmental Advisory Committee.”

Council and staff would also have to develop expectations of developers who agree to green roofs, and determine in which circumstances they would be appropriate, she added.

“We have an environment meeting in two weeks,” Sanders said Friday.

“I’ll make a suggestion that we take a look at it.”

Coun. Vic Derman said he’d like to see green roofs be part of the development permit process in Saanich, along with more environmentally friendly policies.

In fact, Derman says he’s already prepared a suggestion to be included in the new official community plan that includes green roofs.

He said Saanich isn’t as progressive as it ought to be when it comes to being green.

“We’ve done an awful lot of good things, but our carbon neutral policy is just a minor move toward what we need in our total green policy.”