Green Roof Incentives

Hello everyone,

Great job establishing this site. This is officially my first contribution to the blogosphere world in general, and I am genuinely excited.

I'm not sure if anyone has already mentioned this site, but Plant Connection actually has a general list of Green Roof Legislation, Policies, and Tax Incentives organized by location. You can visit the site at http://myplantconnection.com/green-roofs-legislation.php, but I have pasted the bulk of it in this post. It might be a helpful skeleton to adapt and build upon..

-Megan Keely

Boston, MA

Proposed legislation in the city council will provide a one-time tax incentive of $5 per sq/ft for up to $100,000 for commercial and residential green roofs.

Chicago, IL (535,000 sq/ft of green roof)

Grant Program offers up to up to 50% of cost or $100,000 for green roof development of green roofs covering 50% or more of a rooftop space.

Green Permit: a program that fast tracks green roof or LEED certifiable bulding project permits

Los Angeles, CA

All city of Los Angeles building projects 7500 sq/ft or larger are required to meet LEEd standards.

Minneapolis, MN

Stormwater Management any building that improves their stormwater management such as installing a green roof, receives a 50% credit against mandated stormwater usage fees paid to the city.

New York City, NY (500,000 sq/ft of green roofs)

New York State Law in larger cities (only NYC meets the size requirement) you can receive a one year tax credit of up to $100,000 (or $4.50 per sq/ft) for green roof instals that encompass at least 50% of available roof space. Law is effective from January 1,2009- March 15, 2013.

Pennsylvania

Proposed legislation in the city council may provide a personal income tax credit for residential and commercial green roofs in amount of 25% of costs or up to $100,000 per year for 6 years.

City of Philadelphia: offers a credit against the Business Privilege Tax of 25% of all costs incurred to construct a green roof up to $100,000. To qualify, green roof must cover 50% of the rooftop to qualify.

Portland, OR

FAR Bonus: the city of Portland offers a Floor Area Ratio bonus in its building code. Developers may build an extra 3 sq/ft per foot of green roof they construct without additional permits. They also offer a grant reimbursement of up to $5 per sq/ft for reducing stormwater infrastructure with a green roof.

San Francisco, CA

Expedited permits for all green building projects.

Green Building Ordinace of 2008 sets standards for CO2 emmissions and reducing stormwater runoff.

Seattle, WA

FAR Bonus: the city of Seattle also offers a Floor Area Ratio bonus in its building code. Developers may build an extra 3 sq/ft per foot of green roof they construct without additional permits.

Green Factor Program requires a certain amount of green space in certain building zones.

Toronto, Canada

Green Roof By-law: green roofs are required for all new development above 200 sq/m. Coverage requirement ranges from 20-60% of the available roof space and the law effects all new application made after January 31, 2010.

Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Port Coquitlam Green Roof By-law All new commercial and industrial buildings over 5000 square meters must have a green roof. The city has also just enacted a zoning development bylaw, which allows a developer to be exempt from development permit fees if a green roof is planned with no variances.

Richmond Proposed Green Roof By-law office and industrial developments that are 2,000 square meters or larger would need a minimum of 100 green points, which could be achieved through the development of a green roof, meeting a LEED Silver standard, or using the roof for parking and landscaping the grounds.

Washington, D.C.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation has $ 300,000 in funds to provide green roof grants. Individual grants may fund up to 20% of the total cost of a green roof installation.