Green roof bylaw and eco-roof incentive in Toronto

Toronto’s leadership in green roof policy began in 2006 with the City Council’s adoption of a Green Roof Strategy that encouraged the construction of green roofs on City- and privately-owned buildings through incentives, public education and the streamlined development approval process. This led to the adoption of the City’s Green Roof Bylaw and the Eco-Roof Incentive Program in 2009.

Green Roof Bylaw

Toronto was the first city in North America to have a bylaw to require and govern the construction of green roofs on new developments. The Green Roof Bylaw sets out a graduated green roof requirement for new developments that are greater than 2,000 m² in gross floor area. The requirement ranges from 20-60% of the available roof space of a building. The Bylaw includes an option for developers to seek approval to pay $200/m2 as cash-in-lieu instead of constructing the required green roof. All funds collected as cash-in-lieu are directed to the Eco-Roof Incentive Program.

What are the achievements?

Between 2010 and 2017, approximately 420 green roof permits were issued in Toronto, totaling 450,000 square meters of green roof space. The Eco-Roof Incentive Program has received over 500 applications and successfully supported 336 eco-roof projects since 2009.