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In November 2022, Denver City Council passed the “Energize Denver” ordinance, which established a phased rollout of restrictions on the installation and replacement of natural gas appliances in commercial buildings and multi-family housing structures in favor of electric alternatives.  The ordinance does not require building owners to replace any existing functional gas appliances, but owners and developers will need to pay close attention to additional electrification requirements in the Denver building code as they take effect over the next 5 years. Below is a brief overview of when and how some of these restrictions will apply to current buildings and future construction. Click here for the full language of the ordinance.…

Continue Reading Navigating Denver’s Natural Gas Restrictions

On Monday, January 9th, 2023, the Denver City Council voted to pass a new wage theft ordinance, which provides greater authority to the City Auditor’s Office to ensure employees are paid their promised wages.  Denver’s existing minimum wage ordinance continues to allow employees to file complaints to the City Auditor’s Office (the “City Auditor”) and provides employees with a right of private action to recover unpaid wages plus interest. The new wage theft ordinance establishes a civil violation for wage theft violations whereby employees can submit complaints to the City Auditor and the City Auditor will pursue the complaint and seek restitution on the employee’s behalf.  …
Continue Reading Wage Theft Ordinance Passes in Denver

In October 2022, I participated in an Urban Land Institute Colorado walking tour in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood exploring different types of affordable housing.

The Capitol Hill neighborhood is interesting to me because it is made up of so many types of housing in close proximity to one another:  multimillion dollar homes, duplexes, small and large apartment buildings, condominiums, and rowhomes. Very few historic neighborhoods offer a melting pot of housing options like Capitol Hill.
Continue Reading Affordable Housing in Denver’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood

As we originally reported in our September 2018 Otten Johnson Alert, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), once the primary benchmark used for floating rate commercial loans, is nearing its end.  As of December 31, 2021 lenders stopped using LIBOR as a benchmark rate for new loans and one week and two month USD LIBOR rates were discontinued.  All remaining USD LIBOR rates will be discontinued on June 30, 2023.
Continue Reading The LIBOR Act: A federal legislative solution for legacy contracts as LIBOR ends

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, the Aspen City Council (the “Council”) voted to extend its residential moratorium on (i) any new land-use applications for development approval and (ii) certain building permits for residential uses. The original Ordinance #27 was enacted on December 8, 2021 and was originally set to expire on June 8,…