A view of downtown Denver from above the Capitol building. (Courtesy of Guerilla Capturing)
A federal judge has ruled that new city and state building energy standards are lawful, rejecting requests from local apartment and hotel groups to declare them null and void.
U.S. District Judge Regina Rodriguez, a Democratic appointee, decided Friday that Energize Denver and a similar state law can remain on the books after property owners failed to prove the laws regulate appliances and offered no evidence that landlords have been hurt.
A year ago, the Colorado Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Metro Denver and two other such groups sued the city and state. They argued that the new regulations were illegal because only the federal government can regulate the energy efficiency of home appliances, such as stoves, air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces, washers and dryers.
Their argument was indirect. While conceding that Energize Denver and Regulation 28, as the state law is known, do not directly regulate appliances, the landlords argued they effectively do because the only way to comply with the new rules is to replace the appliances in their buildings with products that exceed the U.S. Department of Energy’s efficiency standards.
“Thus, at the heart of this lawsuit is a question, as yet unanswered,” Rodriguez wrote Friday.
Does a federal law prohibiting state and local regulations on appliances also prohibit state and local regulations on building standards? The answer is no, the judge determined.
“Plaintiffs have not alleged that Regulation 28 regulates any specific (appliances), let alone which appliances must exceed which DOE efficiency standards in order to comply,” she wrote last week, calling it speculation that landlords will need to replace appliances.
“At most, one building owner attests that he ‘anticipates’ that he will need to change out HVAC and/or water heating systems,” Rodriguez said of one of the plaintiffs, “but he does not state that the need to change out such equipment would require replacing existing equipment with an HVAC or water heating system that exceeds the DOE efficiency standards.
“Moreover, several of the declarations concede that their buildings are already compliant with Energize Denver without requiring changes — suggesting that Energize Denver does not regulate or require the replacement or installation of appliances,” she explained.
The judge’s ruling does not necessarily end the legal debates around energy efficiency rules. She has given the landlords three weeks to amend their lawsuit and try again.
“With improvements to the Energize Denver building performance policy in place — and the outstanding legal challenge dismissed — Denver is looking forward to making progress together as a community,” Elizabeth Babcock, executive director of the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, told BusinessDen in a statement this week.
Lawyers and lobbyists for the property owner groups did not answer requests for comment. They have warned that updating their buildings in Denver is not financially feasible.
On Tuesday, the city finalized changes to Energize Denver, including later deadlines and softer penalties. Landlord groups have said the changes do not fix fundamental flaws.
“Updating the rules to Energize Denver,” Mayor Mike Johnston said Tuesday, “is a commonsense solution to ensure Denver remains a city that is both pro-business and pro-climate.”
A view of downtown Denver from above the Capitol building. (Courtesy of Guerilla Capturing)
A federal judge has ruled that new city and state building energy standards are lawful, rejecting requests from local apartment and hotel groups to declare them null and void.
U.S. District Judge Regina Rodriguez, a Democratic appointee, decided Friday that Energize Denver and a similar state law can remain on the books after property owners failed to prove the laws regulate appliances and offered no evidence that landlords have been hurt.
A year ago, the Colorado Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Metro Denver and two other such groups sued the city and state. They argued that the new regulations were illegal because only the federal government can regulate the energy efficiency of home appliances, such as stoves, air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces, washers and dryers.
Their argument was indirect. While conceding that Energize Denver and Regulation 28, as the state law is known, do not directly regulate appliances, the landlords argued they effectively do because the only way to comply with the new rules is to replace the appliances in their buildings with products that exceed the U.S. Department of Energy’s efficiency standards.
“Thus, at the heart of this lawsuit is a question, as yet unanswered,” Rodriguez wrote Friday.
Does a federal law prohibiting state and local regulations on appliances also prohibit state and local regulations on building standards? The answer is no, the judge determined.
“Plaintiffs have not alleged that Regulation 28 regulates any specific (appliances), let alone which appliances must exceed which DOE efficiency standards in order to comply,” she wrote last week, calling it speculation that landlords will need to replace appliances.
“At most, one building owner attests that he ‘anticipates’ that he will need to change out HVAC and/or water heating systems,” Rodriguez said of one of the plaintiffs, “but he does not state that the need to change out such equipment would require replacing existing equipment with an HVAC or water heating system that exceeds the DOE efficiency standards.
“Moreover, several of the declarations concede that their buildings are already compliant with Energize Denver without requiring changes — suggesting that Energize Denver does not regulate or require the replacement or installation of appliances,” she explained.
The judge’s ruling does not necessarily end the legal debates around energy efficiency rules. She has given the landlords three weeks to amend their lawsuit and try again.
“With improvements to the Energize Denver building performance policy in place — and the outstanding legal challenge dismissed — Denver is looking forward to making progress together as a community,” Elizabeth Babcock, executive director of the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, told BusinessDen in a statement this week.
Lawyers and lobbyists for the property owner groups did not answer requests for comment. They have warned that updating their buildings in Denver is not financially feasible.
On Tuesday, the city finalized changes to Energize Denver, including later deadlines and softer penalties. Landlord groups have said the changes do not fix fundamental flaws.
“Updating the rules to Energize Denver,” Mayor Mike Johnston said Tuesday, “is a commonsense solution to ensure Denver remains a city that is both pro-business and pro-climate.”
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