December 5, 2017

Mayor Michael B. Hancock Denver City Council

City & County of Denver City & County of Denver
1437 Bannock Street 1437 Bannock Street
Room 350 Room 451
Denver, CO 80202 Denver, CO 80202

Re: Green Roof Initiative (I-300) Stay of Implementation

Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council Members:

The Colorado Real Estate Alliance is writing to request that the City consider adopting a six month stay of
implementation of citizen-initiated ordinance I-300 that was approved during the recent municipal election.

We have initiated conversations with the City Attorneys Office and believe that a stay of implementation is
permissible by law and does not represent an amend[ment] or repeal" under 8.3.1(D) of the Denver
Municipal Charter. Furthermore, we believe it is absolutely necessary to ensure the health, public safety,
welfare, and property of the citizens of the City and County of Denver.

The passage of this ordinance has presented the City and its communitywide stakeholders with too significant
a risk and an insufficient amount of time to safely and strategically implement the ordinance by January 1,
2018. Draft rules and regulations are slated to be distributed in draft form in the middle of December,
followed by a 30 day comment period. Adopting these rules and regulations in this short time span is well-
intentioned but not adequate to address all that is at stake. In addition, it leaves projects that are currently in
process or in the drafting stage with no direction even though the ordinance will go into effect on January 1.

Some of the issues that will need to be studied and thoughtfully addressed include, but are not limited to:
1. Analyzing the impact of the ordinance on all existing buildings, including but not limited to historic
buildings, other existing structures and the associated existing real estate infrastructure as it relates to
developing appropriate codes and exemptions for buildings and infrastructure that may not be able to
sustain the weight loads of these roofing systems and/or may not be able to install enough structural
support to comply.
2. Analyzing the structural integrity and potential new public safety threats of buildings that will now fall under
the new ordinance.
3. Coordinating with the Denver Fire Department and analyzing the International Fire Code as it applies to
solar roof coverage limitations and how those codes interact and/or conflict with the ordinance.
4. Analyzing the ability to activate these new green roof spaces and the safety concerns that come with
allowing citizen access to rooftops.
5. Creating an entire new code for the City Planning staff to implement including all appropriate policies,
rules and regulations and/or processes. Education and coordination of the new code with construction
professionals.
6. Analyzing the impact of the April 2017 hail storm and the potential for a spring hail storm in 2018 and how
the City might respond to the need to quickly repair damaged roofing systems that could be very
widespread before all the codes, processes, and systems are up and running.
7. Coordinating with Denver Water to develop plans for the additional water demand including usage,
storage and filtration impacts.
8. Coordinating with Xcel Energy to plan for the additional solar energy load which could include the
requirement for battery storage, upgraded feeder lines, and the potential need for new or expanded
substations throughout the City to handle the increased power load.
Mayor Michael B. Hancock
Denver City Council
December 5, 2017
Page Two

9. Analyzing the impact on Xcel Energy solar incentive programs now that a mandate is in place.
10. Analyzing the impact of the ordinance on the General Obligation Bond project list.
11. Analyzing the impact of key City projects, including the Convention Center and National Western Center
that will face even further budget challenges.
12. Analyzing the availability of green roof materials and qualified green roof installation companies to handle
the significantly increased demand and what exemptions may be considered if labor and materials are
simply not available or not available in a timely fashion.
13. Analyzing Green Roof construction, operation and long-term maintenance in light of the Colorado climate
which differs greatly from other areas of the country.
14. Addressing the need to shelter affordable housing projects and/or schools and hospitals from the
burdensome financial impact of compliance.

As you can see, these are very real issues that need time and attention to develop properly to ensure the
health, public safety and welfare of the citizens of our City.

More so than just the development community, there are individual citizens, home owners associations and
other property owners and businesses who will be seriously affected should the ordinance take effect as
proposed even with the implementation of expedited rules and regulations in the span of the next 25 days.
Citizens who do not forego necessary repairs altogether will have to spend significant amounts of money to
comply with an ordinance that could well change. Projects and improvements forwarded under such a
premature ordinance cannot ensure compliance with public safety requirements and benefit no one.

The real estate industry has been a great partner to the City and County of Denver as evident in our work on
the Energize Denver Benchmarking program, the 80x50 Greenhouse Gas Emissions program; the Affordable
Housing Impact Fee program; and others. With the passage of I-300, it is now our intent to work together to
develop a program that is attainable and sustainable for all members of our community.

We respectfully encourage you to adopt a 6-month stay of implementation of I-300, and we look forward to
working closely with the City as a necessary stakeholder as this process moves forward.

Please let us know if we can provide any additional information to assist with your consideration of this
request.

Respectfully yours,

Kathie Barstnar
Chair, Colorado Real Estate Alliance
Executive Director, NAIOP Colorado
Mayor Michael B. Hancock
Denver City Council
December 5, 2017
Page Three

Nancy Burke, Vice President of Government Ted Leighty, CEO

and Community Affairs
Colorado Apartment Association
Apartment Association of Metro Denver
Michael Gifford, President
AGC Colorado
Jeannie Bernard, CAE, Executive Director
BOMA Denver Metro
David M. Davia, Executive Vice President & CEO
Colorado Association of Mechanical
and Plumbing Contractors
Elizabeth Peetz, Esq. VP of Government Affairs
Colorado Association of REALTORS
Chris Elliott
Colorado Builds
Mike Kopp, President / CEO
Colorado Concern
Colorado Association of Home Builders
Katie Kruger, CEO
Denver Metro Commercial Association
of REALTORS
Cherie Talbert, Senior Vice President &
Executive Officer
Metro Housing Coalition Political Committee
Home Builders Association of Metro Denver
Grant Nelson
International Council of Shopping Centers
Tiffany Jackson, CPM, CAM
Past President & Legislative Chair
IREM Greater Denver
Matthew Trone, President
SIOR Colorado Chapter

cc: Alan Salazar, Chief of Staff

Kristin Bronson, City Attorney
Evan Dreyer, Deputy Chief of Staff
Skye Stuart, Legislative Director