NAHB Fund Helps Local Housing Advocacy Efforts
The NAHB State and Local Government Affairs Committee approved financial assistance for five home builder associations through the State and Local Issues Fund (SLIF) during the association’s 2021 Fall Leadership Meetings in Houston. To advance advocacy efforts on issues affecting housing affordability, the committee approved a total of $83,000 to the Home Builders Association of Virginia, Building Industry Association of Central South Carolina, Home Builders Association of Tennessee, Homebuilders Association of Metro Denver, and the California Building Industry Association.
Improving Access to Mitigation Credit
HBA of Virginia is seeking to pursue legislation in the 2022 General Assembly session to further improve mitigation banking for builders and developers; specifically working with stakeholders on two bills that would expand service areas — and thus credit availability — and make credits generated by local governments available to private developers.
Fighting Building Restrictions That Harm Affordability
The BIA of Central South Carolina sued Lexington County and won over a procedural issue regarding a proposed six-month moratorium on new residential sub-divisions. The county is now in the process of enacting several extraordinarily restrictive permanent ordinances that will ensure large production builders cannot build in Lexington. Funds distributed will be used to conduct a social media, direct mail, and advertising campaign to inform the public on how restricting such building can harm housing affordability.
Rezoning Properties Without Owner’s Consent
HBA of Tennessee is seeking to amend a current law to bar the downsizing of land without the property owner’s consent as well as add a judicial remedy so the owner can be awarded damages for the decreased use and lost value of the land. Funds will be used for grassroots engagement in key districts of the state.
New Construction Taxes Further Hurting Affordability
The Denver suburb of Castle Rock approved a ballot measure for the November election that contains a $7 per square foot new home construction tax on usable space on single and multi-family properties, adding as much as $30,000 to the price of a new home and pricing out thousands of potential home buyers in the process. The result would make the community one of the most expensive to buy a home in for that area of the state. The HBA of Metro Denver is funding two campaigns to inform the public of the potential harm the measure would mean to housing affordability.
Stormwater Permit Cost Increases
A draft of the next California statewide construction stormwater general permit would increase the cost of any housing project that disturbs more than one acre, or cumulatively disturbs more than one acre, by $1,000 per lot so water would be cleaner coming off construction sites before entering a storm drain. The per lot increase does not account for an increase in legal exposure created by various provisions in the draft permit. The California Building Industry Association is using funds to continue its action plan of developing a comprehensive set of technical and legal comments for the formal rulemaking record and an economic analysis to demonstrate the impact the permit will have on homeownership and affordability.