In our December 2022 Otten Johnson Alert, we reported that the City of Denver planned to evaluate buildings in the downtown area that might be suitable for converting potentially underused office space to much needed residential space. The City recently completed its study, identifying a total of twenty-two buildings that it considered good
Golden Considers New Regulations in Furtherance of its “Roadmap to Net Zero Buildings”
As part of its “Roadmap to Net Zero Buildings,” the City of Golden is currently considering proposed regulations to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2030, and 100% renewable energy for heating by 2050. The proposed regulations would amend the building energy code (Title 18 of the Golden Municipal Code), which
Navigating Denver’s Natural Gas Restrictions
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.
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COVID-19 and the WELL Building Standard
Now that states are starting to lift Stay at Home orders and people are beginning to return to work, many are concerned about the health and safety of their workplace environments. A recent article suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic will spur innovation and investment in healthy buildings. In January 2019, I wrote an Alert about
Colorado Condominium Construction Defect Issue: Colorado Supreme Court Affirms the Right of Declarants for Condominium and Other Common Interest Communities to Require Binding Arbitration of Disputes
As previously reported on this blog a Colorado Court of Appeals decision in 2015 allowed a developer/declarant to retain a right to consent to amendments to a common interest community’s declaration that require arbitration of construction defect claims.
The Colorado Supreme Court has now weighed in on the case involved, which is known as Vallagio at Inverness Residential Condo. Ass’n v. Metro. Homes, Inc., affirming the decision of the Court of Appeals.
Vallagio involved a residential development in which the declaration, created pursuant to the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) included certain dispute resolution provisions, including an arbitration requirement. The dispute resolution provisions also stated that those provisions could “not ever be amended without the written consent of the Declarant,” who was the developer of the project.
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