Restaurant Law Center, et al. v. The City and County of Denver

Issue

Whether the City and County of Denver gas appliance bans are illegal because they are preempted by the existing federal framework of regulations setting nationwide appliance standards for consumers that expressly preempt state and local regulations of appliance energy use and efficiency, with only narrow exceptions.

July 3, 2024

On Wednesday, July 3, 2024, the Restaurant Law Center sued the City and County of Denver, jointly with the Colorado Restaurant Association and other business groups, alleging that Denver’s gas appliance bans are illegal. They argued that the lawsuit was necessary because Denver is attempting to regulate where they do not have jurisdiction given that there is already a federal framework of regulations setting nationwide appliance standards for consumers that expressly preempt state and local regulations of appliance energy use and efficiency, with only narrow exceptions. They allege that if Denver is allowed to enforce these regulations, homeowners and business owners will no longer have the freedom of energy choice, restaurant owners will lose their choice to cook foods that require gas cooking styles for their fundamental taste, and Denver residents and businesses will pay the price in higher building and energy costs.

March 31, 2025

On March 31, 2025, Co-Plaintiffs filed regulatory comments urging the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (“CASR”) to take the time to consider further amendments to the Energize Denver Building Energy Benchmarking and Performance (“BEPS”) regulations to comply with the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (“EPCA”). Unfortunately, CASR’s proposed amendments outright penalize the use of EPCA-covered gas appliances. EPCA expressly preempts state regulations, such as the Energize Denver BEPS regulations, that concern gas appliance energy use and efficiency.