At the direction of High Country Conservation Center, under the guise of greenhouse gas reduction goals, Summit County and some towns are trying to pass legislation in an attempt control new commercial and home construction here.

As far as I can tell, the Conservation Center was never anointed or elected as dictators here in Summit County, and our county commissioners are following their unelected direction like sheep to the slaughter. They are trying to pass building codes even more strict than the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, requiring installation of things like solar panels and (are you ready for this one) electrical vehicle charging infrastructure on all new buildings — a civil liberty violation. This cabal wants to make any homeowners spending in excess of $50,000 on a renovation to be required to get a home energy audit to obtain a building permit. Why do they mandate vs. giving people choices? These are Gestapo-like tactics, which are both authoritarian, intrusive and costly to the homeowners.

Executives of the Summit County Builders Association feel our commissioners are spending a lot money to chase so very little improvement in energy efficiency. They feel their involvement has been ignored because the conservation center and our commissioners look past whatever guidance the builders association recommends. We hope Dillon and Silverthorne think more rationally on this issue.

One would think these type of regulations, which will have a negative economic effect on homeowners, would need to be put to a vote of homeowners here in Summit County, but this one-way-thinking group seems to ignore the voice and vote of the homeowners and residents here. We may need to file a lawsuit to keep this cabal at bay. There is no room for dictators anywhere in our country.