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New building code regulations could
put a crimp in
home affordability
By Rep. Dan
Kristiansen
If you're a first-time
buyer, you know it's not easy to afford a new home. In
Sedro-Woolley, the average median cost of a house is about $214,000.
With this difficult economy, it's a challenge to scrimp and save for a
required down payment on that price. Although the good news is that down-payment assistance programs exist, the bad news is that state government
is about to make overall home affordability more difficult.
During the 2009 session,
the Legislature approved a measure that implements new energy building
codes.
Senate Bill 5854 would incrementally increase energy codes for
homes and buildings, beginning in 2013, with the goal of a 70 percent
reduction in energy consumption by 2031.
Home energy efficiency is
certainly a laudable goal. But with any legislation, impacts to people
and the costs versus benefits must be carefully considered. As a former
small business owner in the construction industry, I know how government
regulations affect home prices. Those of us who opposed this bill were
concerned these new, overly restrictive codes could impact construction
and affordability of housing for families. To ease those worries, the
bill required the Washington State Building Code Council to
incrementally advance the codes over an 18-year period.
Although the bill was
signed into law, our concerns reached new heights when, in May, the
governor directed the State Building Code Council to accelerate the timeline
to require a 30 percent energy-use reduction for buildings by July 2010.
This directive was issued without an economic impact statement which
would have measured the effects to the housing industry and to jobs.
Ramping up energy codes by
30 percent over 10 months is not only unrealistic -- it's unattainable.
The building industry has lost 47,750 construction jobs since 2007. At a
time when unemployment in Skagit County is at 9.3 percent, I'm concerned
the proposed new codes could potentially eliminate more jobs.
How would this affect
average families? Imagine having to pay 10, 20 or even 30 percent more
for a home because of new regulations. In this economy, that puts
home ownership out of reach for many people. Consider also that any
savings in energy costs would be negated by the higher costs consumers
must pay up front. Even if you rent, your costs could go up if your
landlord is forced to pay more.
This bill also prohibits
state agencies from leasing or renewing leases of buildings unless the
owner agrees to upgrade to new energy efficiency standards. This could
mean thousands of dollars in unaffordable out-of-pocket costs, leaving
many leasable buildings vacant.
And yet, this could be the
tip of the iceberg. Imagine that before you sell your home, you would have
to meet new, expensive energy codes, and your home would have to be
inspected and approved by the state before the sale is allowed. This
too, has been under discussion in the Legislature, and a direction I
adamantly oppose.
The council is taking public comments regarding the new codes and will
review input Oct. 29. I encourage you to get involved and voice your
opinion. Get more information from the council's Web site at:
www.sbcc.wa.gov and submit your
comments to: State Building Code Council, P.O. Box 42525, Olympia, WA
98504-2525.
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish,
represents the 39th Legislative District, and also serves as chairman of
the Washington House Republican Caucus. He can be contacted at (360)
786-7967 or from his Web site at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen.
For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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