Excellent news, since we're planning on building a roof deck this spring, and already have included plans to make a green roof on our own.
City wants to turn green into green
... Grants totaling $100,000 are to help homeowners and small businesses make roofs green -- with vegetation -- to benefit both the environment and their budgets.Applications, available online at www.cityofchicago.org/environment [slow loading portal page], will be accepted today through the end of the month in a program sponsored by two city departments, Environment and Planning and Development.
Grants will be awarded competitively to owners of businesses under 10,000 square feet and residents with homes of any size. And based on the more than 60 people who attended a city seminar two weeks ago, “it looks like it's going to be very competitive,” said Michael Berkshire, in charge of green projects for Planning and Development.
The 20,000-square-foot green roof atop City Hall saves $40,000 to $50,000 a year that way, Berkshire said.
Green roofs last longer. They protect waterproofing membranes -- most roofs have one -- from ultraviolet rays and temperature change. In Germany, where roofs typically would need replacing in 15 years, green roofs are going strong after 40 years.Grasses and flowers are as easy on the eyes as they are on budgets. They also reduce and slow stormwater runoff, lightening the burden on sewer systems. And they dial down the “urban heat island” effect, which contributes to smog and higher air-conditioning bills.
Chicago, which introduced its green roof program in 2001 with City Hall's $2.5 million project, has more than 150 roofs in some stage of development.The city-assisted roofs will total 2 million square feet of completed greenery over the next two or three years, Berkshire said. That's not counting Millennium Park, which the city calls the world's largest green roof at 108,900 square feet.
Grant winners, who will be announced in January, can use their $5,000 in a number of ways. At about $10 a square foot, they could cover a garage or half a house.
The flyer is here (pdf), and the grant application is here
From the City of Chicago page
The City of Chicago's Department of Environment is making a limited number of grants ($5,000 each) to help residential and/or small commercial (less than 10,000 square feet) building owners with a green roof project. An informational session on the Program will be held on Wednesday October 19, 2005 from 6:00pm-7:00pm at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. The application process will be explained followed by a general discussion on green roofs, including the permitting process and structural engineering considerations
Tags: Chicago, /Energy, /environment, /Green
