More cars on the road means higher carbon emissions, and studies have found that more road actually results in more cars. In an effort to reduce greenhouse gases, Governor Polis passed a bill in 2021 that, in part, tied transportation funding approvals to agencies’ emissions targets. As a result, the Colorado Department of Transportation has
Latest from Rocky Mountain Real Estate Law
The Impact of the Corporate Transparency Act on Commercial Real Estate
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) seeks to limit the use of shell entities to hide illicit activities and to increase transparency in corporate ownership by collecting identification information of the individuals that organize and own entities. While the CTA is generally applicable to all industries, it has a disproportionate impact on the commercial real estate
The City of Denver Identifies Office Buildings in Downtown Denver that could be Ideal Candidates for Adaptive Reuse
In our December 2022 Otten Johnson Alert, we reported that the City of Denver planned to evaluate buildings in the downtown area that might be suitable for converting potentially underused office space to much needed residential space. The City recently completed its study, identifying a total of twenty-two buildings that it considered good
Denver’s City Council Extends Deadline Requirements for Developers While New Denver Mayor Pledges to Push for Affordable Housing
As we originally reported in our June 2022 Otten Johnson Alert, in June of 2022 Denver’s City Council passed a number of amendments to the municipal and zoning codes in an effort to expand affordable housing in the City. Denver’s Expanded Housing Affordability policy (the “EHA Policy”) included a period of time under which
Property Taxes and Unusual Conditions
In October of 2022, the Colorado Court of Appeals, Division VII rendered an opinion in MLS Properties LLC v. Weld County Board of Equalization. While this case is the first to reach the Colorado Court of Appeals, there were, at the time, twelve similar claims pending throughout Colorado. In these cases, the most notable issue
Golden Considers New Regulations in Furtherance of its “Roadmap to Net Zero Buildings”
As part of its “Roadmap to Net Zero Buildings,” the City of Golden is currently considering proposed regulations to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2030, and 100% renewable energy for heating by 2050. The proposed regulations would amend the building energy code (Title 18 of the Golden Municipal Code), which
Colorado House Passes, Senate Considers Repeal of Rent Control Prohibition
February and March were active months for the Colorado House of Representatives with respect to attempted reforms of current landlord/tenant laws in Colorado. In addition to proposed major overhauls to Colorado statutory eviction procedures (House Bill 23-1171), on February 27th the House passed House Bill 23-1115, which proposes repealing the current statewide
Navigating Denver’s Natural Gas Restrictions
In November 2022, Denver City Council passed the “Energize Denver” ordinance, which established a phased rollout of restrictions on the installation and replacement of natural gas appliances in commercial buildings and multi-family housing structures in favor of electric alternatives. The ordinance does not require building owners to replace any existing functional gas appliances, but owners
Wage Theft Ordinance Passes in Denver
On Monday, January 9th, 2023, the Denver City Council voted to pass a new wage theft ordinance, which provides greater authority to the City Auditor’s Office to ensure employees are paid their promised wages. Denver’s existing minimum wage ordinance continues to allow employees to file complaints to the City Auditor’s Office (the “City Auditor”) and
Affordable Housing in Denver’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood
In October 2022, I participated in an Urban Land Institute Colorado walking tour in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood exploring different types of affordable housing.
The Capitol Hill neighborhood is interesting to me because it is made up of so many types of housing in close proximity to one another: multimillion dollar homes, duplexes, small and