The Home Builder

The quarterly web post that offers insight into member-exclusive opportunities!

Spring Events Recap

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Building Code Updates

Building Code Council Votes to Delay the Implementation of New Codes by 120 Days: At a special meeting of the Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) today, council members voted to delay the implementation of new codes by 120 days to late October.

Top 10 Changes to Building Codes you Need to Know: While updates to Washington’s building codes have been delayed to late October, many of these significant changes may still impact your operations. Below is a list of the top 10 significant changes you need to be aware of.

Legislative Update

While our members often complain about the lack of work done in Olympia, this year the Washington legislative session ended with the passage of key legislation to address the critical housing crisis in our state. This is a great victory for our members, who for years have been advocating for less red tape, creating a shortage of housing and a strain on the market.

This year’s session provided significant wins for our CWHBA members including the passage of nine bills (link to Good News Bills: https://www.biaw.com/good-news-for-builders-and-remodelers/) to increase housing development here are my personal favorites:

In my first week at CWHBA, Thad Vaughn, with JT Custom Homes, got me up to speed quickly about the permitting delays he was seeing in Kittitas County. Permit delays were not just a concern to our membership. Through a collaboration with BIAW and other locals, the passage of 2SSB 5290, provides recourse to our members to hold building officials accountable to their timelines to decrease permit delays. I should mention if you are experiencing significant delays, please let me know: ahochleutner@cwhba.org

Another top concern for our members the last six months has been developing reliable and dependable work force, so much so our Board of Directors has commissioned a new committee to focus our attention on developing our next generation of builder-minded members. The passage of The Pathways Bill, HB 1308 addresses just that and helps our high school students learn more about a future in trades.

Winning is not always about what gets passed, and this year we won by seeing what FAILED, such as rent control, bans on natural gas, and increases on local property taxes. These bills will stay on my radar for future sessions, as will the bad bills that passed, giving L&I more control over local businesses.

Remember, we are stronger through association, and you are not alone in fighting to keep your business a growing success. As always, I am here for you, so please feel free to reach out with any concerns.