Portland Oregon’s Green Roof Requirement Under Threat
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In 2019, Portland Oregon became one of a handful of cities in North America to adopt a mandatory green roof requirement for new buildings. At the time, it was the strongest green roof requirement in the USA, and there was considerable local support for it. However, at the time of this writing, the Portland City Council is considering suspending the requirement that was adopted just four years ago. How did we get here?
A Brief History of Ecoroofs in Portland
Arguably, long-time Portland resident and Green Roof information Think-tank (GRiT) board member, Tom Liptan, FSLA, brought green roofs, or ecoroofs, as they’re known in Portland, to North America. Tom learned about ecoroofs in 1995, and he installed one on his garage and began to measure stormwater retention rates. In 2008, then City Commissioner and later Portland Mayor, Sam Adams, initiated the Grey to Green Program (G2G), and through G2G, Tom’s one-man green roof program suddenly had funding and a team that would create a comprehensive education program and offer a cash incentive of $5 per sq foot for any newly installed green roof of any type. Through the G2G program, more than 100 green roofs of varying sizes were funded. By the end of the program, Portland would be able to boast of more than 500 green roofs.
Portland’s initial purpose in pursuing green roofs was to better manage the 39 inches of average yearly rainfall. Portland’s combined sewer system would often overflow into the Willamette River, causing human health risks. Green roofs and other sustainable or green stormwater management approaches were, and still are, used to remove the rainwater that would overwhelm the combined sewer system and cause raw sewage to continue to flow into the Willamette River. When the eco-roof requirement was adopted, the many other benefits green roofs provide were recognized such as providing open space and habitat, improving air quality, and reducing urban heat island.
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Aerial view of Eugene Oregon and Willamette River.
Green Roof Requirement for New Buildings Adopted
GRiT formed around the same time G2G was launched, gave people interested in promoting green roofs a vehicle to build a green roof culture in Portland, and bolster the nascent green roof industry here. In 2018, the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability updated the downtown Portland plan, called the Central City 2035 Plan. Part of that plan included eliminating many bonuses that allowed developers to build taller buildings if they included things like bike parking and green roofs. Through the Central City 2035 Plan, the City traded off the green roof bonus for a requirement for green roofs.
Currently, new development within the Central City area that is greater than 20,000 gross square feet (count the square footage of all floors) must cover the roof 100 percent with a green roof. An allowance of up to 40 percent of the roof area may be used to support mechanical equipment and hardscape etc. The requirement purposefully does not give an allowance for solar. We did not want to put solar up against green roofs, so the requirement encourages combining solar and green roofs. GRiT was instrumental in getting the requirement adopted by the City Council.
Current Proposal
Portland is a little city with big city problems, and nowhere is that more evident than with houselessness. Each night, approximately 6,000 community members are living unsheltered, and the estimated need for new housing units is significant. Funding from the federal government and local initiatives are pouring unprecedented amounts of funding into addressing the crisis, and the impact is evident: Portland is building thousands of affordable housing units each year. (Note: the 6,000 figure is from the 2023 Point in Time count for Multnomah County, and it includes people living unsheltered, in shelters, and in transitional housing.)
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A green roof in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Amy Chomowicz
To address the housing crisis, the Portland City Council has proposed changes to certain development requirements. The proposal includes suspending the green roof requirement for five years if solar is included. This proposal does exactly what we fought hard to avoid—it pits solar against green roofs. GRiT supports increasing affordable housing, and especially providing housing and needed services and support for the most vulnerable members of our community. However, with this proposal, we lose one of the things that makes Portland unique and a great place to live. Green roofs are part of our culture and our identity.
In our view, this deeply flawed proposal is a reaction to a serious problem, and it was developed with little thought or planning about how it may benefit those who are seeking affordable housing. First, suspending the green roof requirement would apply to new construction with any residential component, not just affordable housing. Currently, there is no minimum requirement for the number of housing units that would be required, and there is no requirement to maintain the units as affordable.
Green roofs benefit the very people we want to support—people who are experiencing a crisis, such as living unsheltered. Green roofs are for everyone, and they can provide much needed access to safe open space, rooftop agriculture to help support food security, and many other economic and environmental benefits.
The Future
Green roofs have been a part of Portland’s identity for almost three decades. If the proposal is adopted, we lose all the benefits that future green roofs provide, and we lose a part of ourselves. If a forward-thinking city like Portland, that has invested heavily in environmental protections, can consider suspending our green roof requirement, what might happen in other communities?
At this time, the fate of the green roof requirement is in the hands of the Portland City Council. But ultimately, it’s up to Portlanders to say if they want a requirement. Numerous environmental and community groups oppose suspending the green roof requirement, and GRiT along with many others will fight to keep the requirement. How will we do it? In the words of Mike Houck, long-time Portland Urban Naturalist, with endless pressure endlessly applied.
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Doug Crimin, President, Green Roof information Think-tank. The Green Roof info Think-tank (GRiT) is a network of businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations, researchers and community members joining together to grow the knowledge and use of green roofs in the Pacific Northwest. GRiT is a registered 501c-3 non-profit organization. www.greenroofinfothinktank.org
