A recommendation requiring Denver homeowners to pay for “green” improvements before they sell their homes is headed for the recycling bin.
As part of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s Greenprint Denver initiative, the mayor created an advisory council to come up with options for making Denver a leader in climate protection.
But a recommendation for “time-of-sale energy conservation” in a draft Climate Action Plan has created concerns.
On Tuesday, Hickenlooper said now is not the time for the plan.
“I don’t think we need to insert additional burdens on homeowners trying to sell their houses right now,” he said in a statement, noting the recommendations were intended to “stimulate discussion, not dictate policy.”
Modeled after programs in Berkeley, Calif., and San Francisco, the recommendation would have required up to $1,000 in “green” home investment before a property was sold. The money would have gone to energy- and water-efficiency features.
The advisory council’s Climate Action Plan notes: “Such an ordinance could be one of the best ways to steadily reach and upgrade” Denver’s older homes.
The plan would have affected 25 percent of Denver’s homes by 2012, according to the council.
But the recommendation did not sit well with an already troubled real estate industry.
“I’m really concerned about the mandatory upgrades and how much that would really cost,” Denver Board of Realtors member John Lucero said.
“The market right now is insane. … I appreciate the green movement and support it, but when you force stuff instead of incentivize, it’s the wrong approach.”
Hickenlooper said he plans to work with area groups to find a different approach.
“I’m talking to the Denver Board of Realtors and Homebuilders Association about how we might achieve some of these efficiency goals without mandates,” he said.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
