Landlords of large office buildings and hospitals in Denver have pushed back against city and state green building rules, saying they damage their bottom lines and the economy.
Complaints from various business sectors have led the city Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency to redo its Energize Denver, or plan to cut building pollution, the Denver Post reported.
The changes will give businesses more time to perform energy audits and draw up an action plan. They also lower fines for firms that fail to meet compliance deadlines.
The Colorado General Assembly is also considering a bill to overhaul state policy cutting carbon emissions produced by large buildings.
The move comes after four trade associations representing large building owners sued the state over its green building policy, adopted early last year by state air quality regulators after state lawmakers mandated it in 2021. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were not disclosed.
The lawsuit is pending in federal court, but its fate may hang on a bill making its way through the legislature.
The bill, House Bill 1269, aims to create an enterprise board that would collect fees from large building owners, then provide technical help with green building rules.
It also would reset deadlines for building owners to meet goals, adjust penalties for those who fail and allow buildings in Denver that comply with the city’s rules to also be considered in compliance with state regulations.
The clock is ticking on this year’s legislative session, which ends May 7, but the bill’s backers believe it will pass, according to the Post.
While the city and state policies don’t exactly dovetail, they both strive to reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced by large buildings. Denver and the state legislature were early adopters of building performance standards across the U.S.
Denver’s rules required buildings collectively to cut 30 percent of their emissions by 2030, with building reductions based on its size and purpose.
Colorado’s green building regulations require buildings of 50,000 square feet or larger to reduce carbon emissions by 6 percent by 2026 and by 20 percent by 2030. The rules affect 8,000 buildings in Colorado.
Businesses say the green building rules don’t gel with the ways businesses plan for capital expenditures, according to the Post.
City and state regulators say they are trying to accommodate building owners’ financial concerns in an uncertain economy, while still reaching their goals to reduce carbon emissions.
Buildings contribute to carbon pollution by consuming energy for heating and cooling, and for powering lights and electronics. Denver’s 17,000 commercial and apartment buildings pump out nearly 50 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
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