Jan

30

Growing Green for less Green

Filed Under Development, Environment, Great City, Innovation 

More of these please... (via flickr user bmaryman)

More of these please... (via flickr user bmaryman)

For years, industry officials, planners, architects and landscape architects have been singing the praises of green roofs. But reports from around the country have also noted that in order for green roofs to be implemented, government needs to provide incentives.

The reason that relatively few green roofs have been implemented is largely due to concerns about warranties, membranes, liability, cost, etc etc….all of the “real world” ideas that get in the way of us getting sustainable solutions today.

All of which is why sustainable policy makers matter just as much as “green builders and developers”. That’s why it is exciting to note that Washington’s own Maria Cantwell is getting digital props from folks like the American Society of Landscape Architects and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

From the ASLA’s e-blast:

Senator Maria Cantwell (WA) introduced the Clean Energy Stimulus and Investment Assurance Act of 2009 (S.320), legislation geared toward creating high-wage green-collar jobs and revitalizing the economy through clean energy investments. ASLA worked with Senator Cantwell’s office to ensure that a section of the bill was dedicated to green roof tax incentives.

Section 506 of the bill gives a 30% tax credit for qualified green roof property expenditures on residential and commercial buildings. The language puts the cap at $5000 on residential buildings, and no cap for commercial buildings. The bill outlines specific, ASLA-recommended language, defining ‘qualified green roofs’ to mean any green roof at least 50 percent of which is a vegetated green roof system. The credit applies to any retrofit or new construction green roof.

Let’s hope it goes on and get passed into law. We all know that SAM could use a little relief after WaMu, nee Chase,  jumped ship on it’s green roof, pictured above.

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