Richmond city council would like to see rooftop gardens, solar panels and electric-vehicle (EV) chargers on non-residential properties.
The request of staff to look into these items was put forward by Coun. Harold Steves at Monday’s council meeting – and supported by all of council – who said he had asked for information about solar panels and greenhouses on top of industrial buildings, for example, the Ikea building, several years ago.
The conversation around EV chargers was sparked by a development on Sweden Way but council allowed that one to continue without requesting more than was already proposed.
Steves claimed there’s pressure from the province to put industrial development on agricultural land, but he thinks agricultural production could go on top of industrial land.
“I think we need a major revamp of the whole system,” Steves said.
Coun. Alex Loo questioned whether putting EV chargers in everywhere is a good idea considering they might be needed after a few years as technology is changing.
“Do we need all that extra infrastructure because that has an impact on the environment, too - building all this extra infrastructure that maybe in five years will be obsolete, too,” Loo said.
Currently, EV chargers are only required in new residential developments.
