engineers & the law

By Laura D. Kumpf,
Miller Thomson LLP

Initiatives are growing to have building

roofs become urban farms.

Rooftop Farms

nvironmental degradation, urban sprawl, waning water name a few: Lufa Farms has a 31,000 sq.ft. rooftop greenhouse
resources, increase in population, and dependence on in Montreal (www.lufa.com). In Vancouver, the downtown
imports are all factors putting significant pressure on YWCA Metro Vancouver has a rooftop food garden which had
the food supply. Urban rooftop farming, pioneered by local a harvest of 720 kilograms in 2012 (www.ymcavan.org).
food and sustainable agriculture movements, has developed
In terms of opportunities, rooftops represent an abunto alleviate some of that pressure.
dant farming resource in dense urban areas. Rooftop farms
The rooftop farming trend is more prominent in the U.S., reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing transportawhere many municipalities have retion costs and environmental imsponded with favourable bylaw and
pacts. They allow the absorption of
Rooftop farms reduce
zoning amendments to create
stormwater which reduces the
greenhouse gas emissions by
urban agricultural districts and perstrain on drainage systems, and
mit farming in residential zones. reducing transportation costs and they cool urban air temperatures.
Brooklyn Grange operates the
Rooftop farming also supports
environmental impacts.
worlds largest rooftop soil farms
local businesses and the local food
located on two roofs in New York City operating under 10 supply industry. It creates sustainable and economic opporand 20 year leases. One of the farms is 43,000 square feet tunities for repurposing unused spaces, lends itself to crecontaining approximately 1.2 million lbs. of soil. Brooklyn ative leasing arrangements and is a natural progression for
Grange grows over 50,000 lbs. of produce per year.
the design and construction of green buildings.
Canadian municipalities are beginning to respond to the
Consequently, municipalities should expand their efforts
growing demand for urban agriculture and rooftop farm- to accommodate rooftop farming. Doing so would counter
ing. The City of Edmontons "fresh: Urban Food and Agri- public concern over the decreasing areas of green space.
culture Strategy" (October 2012) identified rooftop garEngineers who may become involved in designing roofdens in the inner urban area as an opportunity for food top farms should consider the following:
production and recommended that the municipality assess municipal plans, bylaws and strategies for urban agriculture;
regulatory barriers for green roofs.
municipal zoning and permits
In November 2013, Toronto City Council adopted the municipal laws for pesticides, fertilizers, water contaminaToronto Agricultural Program, which included the Urban tion, landscaping and noise pollution
Agricultural Workplan. A component of the plan is promot- existing building integrity including structural capacity,
ing urban agriculture on rooftops through the Eco-Roof access and drainage
Incentive Program. Toronto also has a Green Roof Bylaw building code specifications for structural integrity and
requiring green roofs on new commercial, institutional and requirements for plans and drawings
residential developments with a minimum gross floor area weight capacity including for soil, vegetation, irrigation
of 2,000 square metres, to be built in accordance with the and equipment with allowances for seasonal impact
Toronto Green Roof Construction Standard (Toronto Mu- sufficiency of the waste management system
insurance requirements and allocation of risk in leasing
nicipal Code, Chapter 492, Green Roofs).
Similarly, a Green Roof Bylaw in Port Coquitlam, B.C. agreements
requires new commercial or industrial use buildings having incentive programs and tax benefits.
While the concept of rooftop farming is relatively novel,
a building area of 5,000 square metres or more to have a
green roof on at least 75 per cent of the roof area (Zoning it stands to become more prevalent, providing an excellent
opportunity for cutting-edge engineers to be proactive and
Bylaw, 2008, No 3630, s 12.1).
CCE
Zoning and bylaws, including green roof bylaws in most to contribute to urban initiatives.
Canadian municipalities, are not specific to rooftop farming.
However, the absence of such specificity has not prevented Laura D. Kumpf is an associate at Miller Thomson LLP in
the establishment of urban rooftop farms across Canada. To Edmonton.
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