The Denver Green Buildings Ordinance听is a building code that requires buildings larger than听25,000 square feet听to dedicate a section听of their roofs听to solar or rooftop gardens, with portions ranging听from 20听to 60 percent,听depending on the building size. Denver voters passed the initiative on Nov. 7,听2017听over the objections of some in the real estate and development industry. Since then, city leaders and a task force have听made听recommendations to implement the initiative, which affects the construction and replacement of all roofs 25,000 square feet and larger.听
A White Paper was commissioned by CEDaR to reflect on the听final Denver Green Roofs Ordinance approved by the Denver City Council听by synthesizing research materials and participant comments from听two CEDaR workshops. The听objective was to review the evolution of the Denver Green Roof Ordinance, from its origin to its final form, the Green Building Ordinance, and draw conclusions from this story that can inform future green roof policies.听Additionally, Denver鈥檚 experience was compared with San Francisco, Toronto, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The final section examined the effectiveness of green roofs in Colorado, as questions about effectiveness were one of the biggest concerns brought up during the initial vote.
Scott Reca听补苍诲听Alec Sabatini, White Paper authors and CEDaR interns, worked with the Urban Land Institute (ULI),听the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world,听to organize听a Nov. 7 workshop听about the Denver Green Buildings Ordinance, entitled "Denver's Green Roof Initiative: What does it mean for your business?"听听They also听created a summary handout听that was distributed to all event attendees.听Keynote speakers included听Kenneth Sanchez,听chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of facilities management听for the Javits Center;听Rebecca Marshall,听sustainability manager for the Javits Center; and听Katrina Managan, energy efficient buildings lead听for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.
This paper also draws on the听workshop, "Reassessing the Denver Green Roofs Ordinance: Where Does It Take Us?"听held Oct.19, 2018 at the CEDaR's Community Building Colorado-Style conference and organized by Sabatini and Reca. Panelists included听Jennifer Bousselot, Colorado State University听Green Roof Task Force Member鈥�;听Andy Creath, owner, Green Roofs of Colorado/Green Roof Task Force Member; Sabatini; and Reca.听
This work was completed through a CEDaR internship. Reca and Sabatini have sinced graduated CU Boulder respectively through the environmental studies (ENVS) undergraduate program and the masters of the environment (MENV) graduate program.
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