Share this with a builder and/or your county building codes office. Money is speech. Denver sends me "an opportunity to connect newcomers with housing"
Know a builder? Share the below with them. Share it with your county commissioners too, asking them to pass it along to their building codes people.
I recently received an email from the Colorado Energy Code Office asking for feedback about the recently-completed energy code.
If you are a builder (or know one) and have thoughts, you'll find a way to provide feedback below. The same applies for code officials at your county (best forwarded by sending to your commissioners if you don't know the code people).
Send the text below along to them as an FYI and encourage them to speak up. Note that feedback is due by 3/22!
The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) has published a Request for Information (RFI), which has been attached to this email, to solicit information from local governments, building industry professionals, and other relevant stakeholders on needs that local governments have to adopt:
a stretch energy code, which is a code exceeding Colorado's minimum requirements of the 2021 IECC and the Colorado model electric ready and solar ready code; or
a zero energy code, which is a code equivalent to appendices RC or CC of the 2021 IECC.
The CEO is also interested in understanding which local governments across the state may be interested in pursuing funding opportunities to support adoption of one of the two energy codes listed previously.
Interested local governments, building industry professionals, and other stakeholders are encouraged to submit responses to the RFI to inform a possible future CEO application for Department of Energy funding to support adoption, implementation, and enforcement of these advanced energy codes. Responses should be submitted to Tara Larwick, tara.larwick@state.co.us, by no later than 4:00 PM MT on March 22, 2024.
Local governments that do not wish to respond to the RFI are still encouraged to indicate their level of interest in pursuing funding to support adoption, implementation, and enforcement of advanced energy codes. Local governments may respond to this survey (either as part of the RFI or separately) to indicate interest or disinterest in pursuing advanced energy codes.
Recipients of this message are encouraged to forward the RFI to any party interested in providing information to the CEO
Money is speech
“'The fact that (Griswold) has politicized her office so much, this is the repercussions of that,' Pelton said. 'The Supreme Court has been very clear. Money is speech. Period. And when they are that clear and that’s the way they ruled, we should respect that.'"
The quote from Sen Pelton above comes from the Complete Colorado story linked below. It covers a bipartisan bill (linked second below) that would guard donors' privacy against intrusion by any public agency (such as our rabidly-partisan Secretary of State Jena Griswold).
I have to admit here to a bit of ambivalence about this bill. If you've read this page long enough, you know my thoughts about dark money. I have, more than once, filed complaints against the Sixteen Thirty Fund over this issue.
In that sense, I am a fan of transparency regarding donors.
At the same time, the reason I filed those complaints partly involved trying to force Secretary of State Griswold into some notion of fairness or parity with regard to who she went after for campaign finance violations. She has, as it is mentioned in the quote and the story politicized the issue of who donates and where.
To the extent that this bill wouldn't interfere with efforts to try and prevent abuse of nonprofit status, I'm in support. That is, as long as this wouldn't interfere with efforts to stop organizations registering as "social benefit" nonprofits and then making their main benefits be given to a particular political party, political ideology, or group, I'm in support.
People who feel motivated to get involved in politics by giving, regardless of where they land politically, should enjoy the security of knowing that bad actors won't seek retribution.
I would say that this bill seems to stand a better than average chance given the bipartisan nature of its support, but if you want to speak up on it, you need to note that the article's a bit out of date. As of my last check on this bill it's up for its next committee on Tues 3/12. Follow the bill page for the latest.
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2024/02/22/colorado-senate-bill-donor-privacy-non-profits/
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-129
Denver sends me "an opportunity to connect newcomers with housing"
I don't think it is physically possible to stuff more euphemisms into one sentence. I mean, I think there are those that might dare to try, but I don't think they would meet with success.
Because I have had to get a rental license with Denver (a license which still has yet to arrive mind you), and perhaps because I've been outspoken to the City and County of Denver about my distaste for their policies, I ended up on a mailing list for Denver rental property owners.
I received the email at the end of this post from the City and County of Denver. It is a direct copy of the text with the links intact.
It's an opportunity to welcome "newcomers", more plainly people crossing the border and ending up in Denver, by giving them what I can assume will be subsidized housing.**
Let's put aside questions of whether giving people like this housing is a "pull factor" which helps draw them here.
Let's put aside questions of whether we should be doing this.
Let's get straight to the point. Who is paying for this? Where are they getting the money?
I will do some digging and if I get an answer I'll share.
**I make this assumption because, with some exceptions, these folks aren't allowed to work.
Email follows:
Dear stakeholders in our local residential rental property industry,
You are receiving this email because you have an active or pending residential rental property license with the City and County of Denver.
The City and County of Denver has long prided itself on being a welcoming city, coming together and supporting one another in times of crises, and supporting each other as much as needed. With almost 40,000 migrants arriving in the Mile High City since 2022, the city's ongoing efforts include working closely with the community to find solutions that would more efficiently and effectively support our newcomers.
To this end, we are working to assess how many licensed rental property owners and those with pending applications are interested in assisting the city in connecting newcomers with stable housing. Please help us by answering the following two questions:
Do you have a vacancy in your rental property with a rent of less than $2,000?
Are you willing to speak with a local nonprofit organization tasked with identifying properties for qualifying newcomers?
If you answered yes to both questions above, please fill out this form.
Community partnerships are key for Denver to lead the way and become the model across the nation for communities facing this or similar situations. Thank you for joining thousands of Denverites who are showing their unwavering support during this unprecedented humanitarian response.
Thank you,
City and County of Denver