4/1/2023 0 Comments Green solution menu coloradoThe town wanted the newer green building codes in place, but people needed to be able to afford to move back. Superior also granted an exemption to Marshall fire families.Īt the time, people needed relief from a mandate, Shah said. The tension got so high that Trustee Neal Shah infamously dropped an “F-bomb in the meeting because I was really frustrated with where it was going,” he recalled. In Superior, residents packed town Board of Trustees meetings, demanding the codes be rolled back. Just months before the Marshall fire swept through southeastern Boulder County and destroyed 1,084 homes valued at $2 billion, the Louisville City Council had approved an ordinance requiring all newly constructed homes to be built to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code - meaning homes needed to meet certain standards for energy efficiency, including having a higher grade of insulation and tighter windows.īut in the wake of the fire, hundreds of families learned they were severely underinsured, and they feared that those codes would make rebuilding even more expensive, potentially making it impossible to build a new house. “And it’s building toward the town’s climate goals.” “Pragmatic” environmental wins “It’s great for people because they’re going to have a more comfortable and efficient home,” Bullen said. Superior town officials are pleasantly surprised by residents’ choices, said Alexis Bullen, the town’s sustainability analyst. ![]() Boulder County did not lift its requirement for the 2021 codes for properties burned in unincorporated areas of the county. So far, Superior has issued four occupancy permits - meaning homes are finished and people can move in - while two have been issued in Louisville.īoth municipalities require all new home construction to be built under the 2021 codes, but waived that requirement for Marshall fire victims after they said it would be too much of a financial burden. “In my heart of hearts what I really wanted to do was go green and I stood at that ledge and I jumped into 2021 going, ‘Well, IÕll figure it out.’” (Photo by Helen H. But she’s making it happen by using rebates and incentives offered by Xcel Energy and the Colorado Energy Office. Szucs did not join the protests but at first worried about the affordability of an energy-efficient home. Now, 60% of the people who have received building permits are making their homes meet that standard. The city rescinded the requirement for Marshall fire victims. ![]() A year ago, Louisville residents who lost their homes in the Marshall fire protested a city mandate to build new homes to 2021 green building codes. The family lost their home in the Marshall Fire that burned 1084 homes in Dec. Heather Szucs spins her daughter Savanah, 11, as she dances in the living room of their home that is in the midst of being rebulit in the Cornerstone neighborhood on Feb.
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