Grand Rapids Green Roof Market Development Symposium

Transcription

1 Grand Rapids Green Roof Market Development Symposium March 27, Rockford Office Commons Symposium Partners: Symposium Sponsors:

2 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) works with local governments and community and industry stakeholders to explore opportunities to develop local green roof and wall industries through supportive policy change. This grassroots approach to greening the market has been implemented in more than 30 cities across North America over the past decade. The Grand Rapids Green Roof Market Development Symposium took place on March 27, 2014 at Rockford Office Commons. The event was hosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities in partnership with American Rivers, the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, and the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds. The event brought together over 60 stakeholders from Grand Rapids and surrounding region. This included: Representatives from non-governmental organizations, including those mentioned above Representatives from the City of Grand Rapids and the Grand Valley Metro Council Local architects, designers, and landscape architects Building contractors and roofers Employees of green roof and wall systems manufacturers active in Western Michigan Green infrastructure policy experts Students Please see Appendix A for a list of attendees. The event was an opportunity to examine the benefits of green roofs, green roof policies and programs that have been implemented in cities around North America, and how some of those examples might prove informative for Grand Rapids. Also explored were the green infrastructure policies and programs that the City of Grand Rapids has implemented over the past decade. The Symposium served as a launch point for the Grand Rapids Green Roof Task Force, a working group that will consider existing policies that support green roofs and devise a policy roadmap for how to develop policies and programs to further develop the green roof industry in Grand Rapids. The Task Force will deliver a series of recommendations to the City by the end of With the widely accepted knowledge of the private and public benefits of green roofs in mind, these recommendations will center on how the City can support green roof technology through policies, incentives, and other tools. The Task Force s recommendations will be informed by current legislative and financial considerations, as well as the discussion generated during the Symposium. Symposium Conclusions: Outreach Existing policies (such as Green Grand Rapids) that recognize green roof technology can be better promoted to architects, landscape architects, developers, and building owners. A brochure promoting green infrastructure in Western Michigan would be of value to policymakers, designers, developers, NGOs, and more. This document would be used by various organizations to promote green infrastructure, how it is recognized in Western Michigan, and how green roofs fit in. It would be used to introduce other communities in Michigan to Grand Rapids programs and opportunities

3 and hopefully spur them to create supportive policy. Specifically, this document would be presented to the 22 Western Michigan communities that already have stormwater ordinances. Outreach with the community in regards to the benefits of green infrastructure and low-impact development can be improved. Suggestions include signage on accessible projects or a tour book for established green roofs in Grand Rapids. Communication Cross-departmental and cross-organizational communication regarding green infrastructure can be improved. Overall pooling resources was very clearly needed due to budget constraints. No public platform exists that assists and catalogues communication and collaborations on green roofs between the City, the many organizations that attended the event, and the design and development community. It was proposed that the Green Roof Task Force becomes a part of or has a representative in the City s Stormwater Task Force, Lower Grand Rapids Regional Water Council, and the Western Michigan Chapter of USGBC. Research/Education It would be useful to have more knowledge as to how many times green roofs have been used towards greenspace provisions in the City s 2008 Zoning Ordinance. There is no easily accessible or dedicated list of green roof projects in Grand Rapids. It was agreed that such a list, displayed online, would be helpful to illustrate how many green roofs exist in the region. There is a need to further educate engineers and facility managers on the benefits, design, and installation of green roofs. Solutions to these and other issues will be examined by the Task Force. Green Roof Task Force Work Plan The work plan for the Task Force is as follows: Review Symposium findings Review existing legislation Engage and convene public and private stakeholders for their input Review policy/incentive options Examine if there are any research and development needs in support of policy/incentive options Report findings to the City, including the Mayor s Office, the Environmental Services Department, the Office of Energy and Sustainability, and the Planning Department. This Task Force will be comprised of a number of individuals from the private sector and agencies that are involved with local green infrastructure advocacy. These individuals include: Nathan Griswold (Chair), ASLA, GRP President, Inhabitect, LLC & Policy Educator, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

4 David Yocca, RLA, FASLA, AICP, LEED AP, Principal Landscape Architect/ Planner, Conservation Design Forum Katie Rousseau, Director of Clean Water Supply, American Rivers (Great Lakes) Charlie Appleby, CSI, CCPR, West Michigan Representative, MWA Commercial Roofing Solutions Jeremiah Johnson, ASLA, Principal, Advanced Green Roofs Jordan Dykstra, Green Roof Division Sales Manager, Superior Groundcover Inc. Amber Poncé, GRP, Business Development Manager, LiveRoof Global Laura L. Rauwerda, Senior Environmental Quality Analyst, Michigan DEQ If you have any questions about the Grand Rapids Green Roof Task Force or would like to join the group, please contact Paul Erlichman at or ex GRHC is currently planning Symposia for St. Paul, MN and Atlanta, GA. GRHC and the Green Infrastructure Foundation also run a Green Infrastructure Design Charrette. Contact Vincent Javet for more information, vjavet@greenroofs.org, ex APPENDIX A List of Attendees Aziza Ahmadi, Grand Valley State University John Aleck, LiveRoof, LLC Haris Alibasic, Grand Rapids Office of Energy and Sustainability Charlie Appleby, MWA Commercial Building Solutions Ben Baker, Wightman & Associates, Inc. Jason Barrett, Tremco Inc. Douglas Barron, DJ Barron, LLC Gaelle Berges, Vegetal i.d. Andy Bowman, AEB Planning Angela Cesare, University of Michigan Kent Chandler, CETCO TJ Daniels, Bright Roofing Nichol De Mol, Trout Unlimited Renaud Du Plessis, Vegetal i. D. Jordan Dykstra, Superior Groundcover Paul Erlichman, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Scott Ferguson, Rockford Construction Sean Foltz, American Rivers Brennon Garthwait, Vegetal i.d. Tim Gerrits, GMB Architecture + Engineering Kari Gerwin, Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments Aynsley Gilmour, West Michigan Environmental Action Council Nathan Griswold, Inhabitect, LLC Erik Gronk, Advanced Green Roofs

5 Tom Hanzely, Firestone Building Products George Heartwell, City of Grand Rapids Matt Heidloff, GMB Architecture + Engineering Robert Humbarger, ConSpect Services, Inc. Jeremiah Johnson, Advanced Green Roof Ryan Kilpatrick, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Scott Levering, Renue Roofing Dave MacKenzie, LiveRoof, LLC & LiveWall, LLC Maggie Martelli, Eco-Roofs, LLC Lori May, Livewall, LLC Dan Miller, Rivertown Landscapes James Moyer, Grand Valley State University Craig Newhouse, RJM Design, Inc. Wendy Ogilvie, Grand Valley Metropolitan Council Lyman Parks, Meijer Inc. Amber Poncé, LiveRoof, LLC Kristina Preble, West Michigan Environmental Action Council John Ratter, Tremco, Inc. Laura Rauwerda, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Greg Raymond, Ecogardens Carrie Rivette, City of Grand Rapids Richard Ronchka, Advanced Green Roof Katie Rousseau, American Rivers Mike Ryskamp, Plaster Creek Stewards Jared Sartini, West Michigan Environmental Action Council John Scholten, LiveRoof, LLC Elaine Sterrett Isely, West Michigan Environmental Action Council Homer Trecartin Jr., Eco-Roofs LLC Yoshiaki Tsuji, Yoshiaki Tsuji Architect LLC. Oscar Warmerdam, Sempergreen USA Russ Watson, MWA / Firestone Jim Winter-Troutwine, Winter-Troutwine Associates Inc. David Yocca, Conservation Design Forum