Denver City Council members overwhelmingly approved an ordinance making it harder to file class-action lawsuits over construction defects on Monday — and then called on the Legislature to do the same next year.

 

The council said the law will be key to re-starting the city’s dormant condominium market, and voted 12-1 for the ordinance, which takes three main steps to curbing the number of legal actions filed by a small number of homeowners association members.The one “no” vote came from new councilman Paul Kashmann, who said he felt the protections for homeowners dealing with significant construction problems were not strong enough.

 

Denver’s approval makes it the ninth Front Range city to pass such a law over the past 13 months, and means that three of the five largest cities in the state — Denver (No.1), Aurora (No. 3) and Lakewood(No. 5) all have put into place a reform measure that Democrats in the Legislature have killed for three years in a row.

 

City Council members called on legislators to follow their lead at a time when affordable condominiums make up only 3.4 percent of the new housing stock coming onto the market — dwarfed by more expensive single-family homes.