Auburn Hills invests in new green roof for police shooting range

The new green roof in Auburn Hills may be more expensive in the short term but it promises to save the city a lot of cash in the long term.

Short term is the roof's price tag of $148,000. Long term is its 60-year life expectancy, especially when compared to the old 7-year-old roof that habitually sprung leaks. It also allows the city to show that the green building policy it passed in 2006 wasn't just talk.

"We're using this as an example to businesses moving here of what they can do," says Shawn Keenan, water resources coordinator for Auburn Hills.

It's going to be easy to see. The 2,600-square-foot roof covers the shooting range for the Auburn Hills Police Department, which just happens to be underneath the walkway into the department's home. Before it was covered in brick pavers, which pale in comparison to the lush green vegetation workers will install on the roof in the next few weeks.

There will also be solar-powered lights over the path to the Auburn Hills Police Department and heating coils underneath the path so plant-harming salt won't have to be used in the winter. The green roof will also reduce storm water runoff, shrink the heat-island effect and improve the air quality. Not to mention it will look much better.

"We basically said let's see what we can do to make things even better," Keenan says.

Source: Shawn Keenan, water resources coordinator for Auburn Hills
Writer: Jon Zemke

Auburn Hills invests in new green roof for police shooting range

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