The Denver Landmark Preservation Commission on Tuesday backed down from enforcing a policy that requires redevelopers of historic buildings to waste energy — and thereby contribute to global warming.
The Post applauds this outbreak of common sense, belated though it is. But we also support efforts of state Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, to craft progressive guidelines permitting energy conservation when applying for grants to the state Historical Fund.
There is a growing scientific consensus that human activities contribute to global warming — a fact underscored by the Nobel Prize awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, many of whose staffers and researchers are based in Colorado. In light of that, it is simply outrageous for a government agency to brazenly stop enlightened citizens from living by the “think globally, act locally,” ethic.
Yet, that is exactly what the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission tried to do in forbidding developer Evan Makovsky from replacing the windows in the old Fontius building on the 16th street mall with energy-efficient windows as part of his efforts to revive the vacant structure that has blighted the mall for years.
Makovsky’s efforts, along with similar rejuvenation plans at the old Washington Park school and the Tramway Cable Building, ran afoul of a Landmark Commission policy that states: “In general, owners of historic properties are discouraged from replacing existing original windows. Windows are a very important part of the original fabric of a structure. Their proportion and textured, enhanced by their age, add an element to the fabric of the facade that would be lost when replaced with new windows.”
Freely translated, that means: “If an old building historically wasted energy, it must continue to waste energy — and if polar bears go extinct as a result, that’s their tough luck.”
Fortunately, Denver Councilman Charlie Brown and other civic leaders take a more enlightened view of their responsibilities to the world community and joined in the pressure that forced the Landmark Commission to compromise.
Makovsky agreed to spend $300,000 to create custom replicas of the original windows, restoring and reusing the original brass hardware in the process. In return, he expects to save $2.2 million in energy costs over the next 10 years. His good citizenship also will prevent many tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
But even though this individual case has a happy outcome, the pernicious policy mandating energy waste remains in the Landmark Commission guidelines. It should be removed.
Likewise, the legislature should support Renfroe’s efforts to ensure applicants for grants from the state Historical Fund can use energy-saving techniques such as dual-pane windows in their projects. Renfroe was inspired to draft the law after bureaucrats tried to prevent an old school in his district from modernizing its windows.
We like old buildings as much as anyone, and think redevelopers should try to stay true to the original design, but we join Renfroe and Brown in celebrating the fact that common sense is also a historic Colorado value.
