Denver committee hears administrative amendments to Energize Denver building performance policy

The Denver City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard a presentation April 29 from Denver Climate Office staff proposing administrative ordinance amendments to the Energize Denver Building Performance Policy that would codify recent rule changes and add flexibility for owners of small buildings, condominiums and restaurants.

Liz Babcock, executive director of the Denver Climate Office, and Sharon Jade, manager of the Energized Denver team, said the proposal does not require buildings to electrify or force HVAC replacement before the end of system life. “Buildings are not required to electrify to be in compliance,” Sharon Jade said, describing the policy as an energy‑efficiency requirement with building‑specific targets rather than a single uniform mandate.

The amendments staff outlined include timing changes — moving a first target year from 2024 to 2025, codifying an extension process for benchmarking, and allowing alternate baseline years (2018 or 2020 if 2019 is not representative). Staff said the timeline extension has already been used by about 98.5% of covered buildings. They also proposed expanding the disclosure-on-sale requirement from buildings 25,000+ sq ft to those 5,000+ sq ft and requiring transfer of historical energy data upon sale for larger buildings.

For planning and compliance, staff proposed a process to exclude certain transportation energy uses that plug into building utilities (for example, electric-vehicle chargers and compressed-natural‑gas fleet chargers), codifying heated-pool exclusions, clarifying covered‑building definitions using building‑code terminology, and adding authority for third‑party data verification. On enforcement, the amendments would enshrine the reduced penalty structure created in 2025, clarify steps after penalty assessment, allow owners to request penalty reinvestment (with executive‑director approval), and formalize appeals and compliance‑plan submissions after penalties.

Staff also described two specialized rule pathways: a prescriptive, menu‑based option for restaurants being developed with the Colorado Restaurant Association (measures under consideration include LED lighting, smart thermostats, exhaust-fan timers, refrigeration improvements and lower hot‑water setpoints where health standards allow) and a simplified option for certain condominium associations that would allow homeowner associations to choose a prescriptive audit‑driven route or a lower maximum target (for some 25,000–50,000 sq ft condominium buildings the proposed maximum is a 15% reduction from baseline).

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about how condominium governance, special assessments and deferred maintenance affect compliance and whether the restaurant pathway requires an ordinance change (staff said that restaurants and condominium options can be implemented via rules under existing ordinance authority). Councilmember Daryl Watson asked about pending litigation challenging the policy; staff said plaintiffs argued the policy “de facto requires electrification” and raised a federal preemption claim under the Energy Policy Conservation Act. Denver and the state have filed motions to dismiss; the judge granted the initial motion, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, and Denver and the state have filed an additional motion to dismiss. Staff said the administrative amendments are intended to improve implementability and are not driven by the litigation.

Staff noted progress metrics: among reporting large buildings, total energy use has dropped about 9% since 2018 even as the number of reporting buildings rose by roughly 450, and commercial and multifamily buildings’ share of emissions has fallen from 49% (2019) to 45% (most recent reporting). Staff also reminded the committee that third‑party data verification and benchmarking submissions are underway, with verification due June 1.

The committee did not take a vote on the amendments during the briefing; staff said they will advance rulemaking and return through the council processes, with additional stakeholder engagement planned before any final ordinance or rule changes are adopted.