Recently at Aspen Journalism, we brought you a story (“The outsized impact of REMP residences,” May 27) born of Data Editor Laurine Lassalle’s curiosity about what could be learned by examining permit data for homes subject to the city of Aspen and Pitkin County’s Renewable Energy Mitigation Program, or REMP. For more than two decades, REMP has been a cornerstone of local environmental and climate policy, requiring new and remodeled homes with energy-gobbling exterior features such as heated driveways, pools and spas to offset those heightened power demands, either by installing onsite renewable energy systems or by paying a fee that funds green energy and energy efficiency programs elsewhere.
Through open-records requests and by working with officials from the city and county building departments, Lassalle was able to assemble a dataset of all building permits issued under REMP going back four and five years, respectively, from the city and county.
Lassalle’s analysis shows that about two-thirds of the residential home projects in the last five years in unincorporated Pitkin County were subject to REMP. Of the homes that needed a REMP permit, the majority were in the program because they had snowmelt systems.
Those snowmelt systems, according to a consultant, use double the energy per square foot of an average home.
This is all relevant to the current discussions taking place among the volunteer Community Growth Advisory Committee that has been evaluating Pitkin County’s land use code, and recently passed along a set of recommendations to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners that will be debated this summer. Those recommendations include shrinking the maximum house size from 15,000 square feet to between 8,750 and 9,250 square feet and changing how transferable development rights work.
These policy proposals aim to reduce the residential sector’s climate impact, taking aim at the monster homes that consume the most energy. Consider that residential homes are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in unincorporated Pitkin County with 47% of the total, and big homes — defined as above 5,750 square feet — account for 43% of the residential home sector’s energy use emissions, despite adding up to just 13% of the total home inventory.
It’s true that the larger the home, the more energy per square foot it is likely to consume and the more likely it is to have both exterior energy loads as well as interior features like heated floors, complex AV and IT systems and industrial-strength kitchen vents. But a county consultant is warning that If home size is limited and these amenity loads are not addressed, the energy use per square foot of homes at the top end of the allowed size range may increase.
The bottom line is that if the community wants to achieve its climate goals — including neet-zero emissions from new residential construction by 2030 — we have a long way to go. We hope our data-driven investigation into local land-use and environmental outcomes will help us better understand where we are at.
Thank you for reading, and supporting, Aspen Journalism.
Curtis Wackerle
Editor and executive director
The outsized impact of REMP residences
Two of three single-family homes built since 2018 in Pitkin County feature exterior energy-sucking amenities
By Laurine Lassalle | May 28, 2023
Mitigation strategies that offset all exterior energy use have not always been possible or sufficient. Local governments are considering additional measures to help meet climate goals, including potentially reducing the maximum allowed house size in the county.
Data dashboard: Streams flowing well above average
Snowpack below high alpine nearly gone
By Laurine Lassalle | May 31, 2023
• The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 1,160 cfs on May 29, or 186.2% of average. That’s up from 816 cfs on May 21.
• The monitoring station at Independence Pass has been recording a snow-water equivalent of zero inches since May 28.
• Lake Powell’s elevation on May 29 was 33 feet above the target elevation of 3,525.
Real-time streamflow
By Laurine Lassalle | June 1, 2023
Aspen Journalism is compiling real-time streamflow information. Users can hover on each graph to get the most current streamflow information for the selected station.
Our nonprofit mission is to provide in-depth, investigative journalism surrounding issues of water, environment, social justice, and more.