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CEDaR interns Scott Reca and Alec Sabatini worked with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world, to organize a Nov. 7 workshop about the Denver Green Buildings Ordinance. Reca and Sabatini also created a summary handout that was distributed to all event attendees. 

The Denver Green Buildings Ordinance is a new building code that requires buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to dedicate a portion of their roof to solar or rooftop gardens, with portions ranging from 20 to 60 percent, depending on the building size. Denver voters passed the initiative a year ago over the objections of some in the development community. Since then city leaders and a task force have made recommendations to implement the initiative, which affects the construction and replacement of all roofs 25,000 square feet and larger. 

 

The workshop covered best practices for implementation of the ordinance with a national case study from the Javits Center in New York City, a panel discussion of green roof regulations, logistics, benefits, alternatives and financing, and a tour of a state-of-the-art green roof at the event location, the Flight building at TAXI in Denver.  Keynote speakers included Kenneth Sanchez, chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of facilities management for the Javits Center; Rebecca Marshall, sustainability manager for the Javits Center; and Katrina Managan, energy efficient buildings lead for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.

Reca and Sabatini are preparing a white paper on the initiative.