Monday Morning Briefing Letter - 03/12/2007 (Plain Text Version)By Brian Catalde, NAHB President and View Graphical Version
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| E-mail Our Editor Finding that certain ponds are NOT covered by the Clean Water Act,the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down a very favorable decision that represents a significant step toward clearer and more consistent interpretation of CWA jurisdiction. In San Francisco Baykeeper v. Cargill Salt Division, the court reversed a previous ruling that had affirmed CWA jurisdiction over a holding pond located adjacent to navigable waters. Agreeing with several of the arguments presented by NAHB in our friend-of-the-court brief, the Circuit Court said that "mere adjacency provides a basis for [CWA jurisdiction] only when the relevant water body is a wetland."
NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB devotes considerable legal expertise and resources toward achieving greater clarity, consistency and fairness in environmental regulations that raise the cost of homeownership. This latest ruling represents a significant victory for NAHB and its builder members, and could lead to reduced regulatory compliance costs for certain developments in the future. Breaking news: Builders can expect more wetlands permit delaysbecause the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers only just published its changes for the next five-year Nationwide Permit (NWP) cycle. Since final NWP regulation must be published at least 60 days before its effective date, and the current permits expire on March 19, the government would have had to issue its changes by Jan. 19 in order to avoid a gap in permit coverage. Instead, those changes were just announced on March 9 – meaning the new permits can't go into effect until at least May. To make matters worse, the Corps has once again lowered its threshold requirements, and has broadened jurisdiction to include ephemeral waters. This doesn't do much to streamline the process, even though that was the intention of the permits in the first place. While there doesn't seem to be adequate justification for the changes, there is also no incentive to encourage builders to apply for NWPs rather than individual permits.
2. If you are close to submitting a preconstruction notification for an NWP - File your notification as soon as possible and process it before March 19. 3. If you are still planning your project - Make sure it meets the new requirements. Another option is to seek coverage under another type of general permit, such as a regional or programmatic permit, or under an Individual Permit. For more information, see the March 12 evening edition of NBN Online, or contact Marolyn Parson (x8157) or Calli Schmidt (x8132). [return to top] Spotlighting local land-use policies that hurt housing affordability,NAHB President Brian Catalde addressed the Community & Economic Steering Committee of the National Association of Counties (NACo) in Washington, DC last week. Comprised largely of county officials from across the country, NACo is one of the most important organizations with which NAHB works on a regular basis. During NACo's legislative conference, Brian spoke of how housing shortages are often the direct product of land-use policies established by local governments. He emphasized to county commissioners the direct impact of certain local restrictions and development regulations, and especially focused on the downside to inclusionary zoning ordinances. He encouraged the commissioners to reach out to their local home builder associations in an effort to come up with creative solutions for funding infrastructure and other needs while maintaining housing affordability. Finally, with climate change quickly garnering national attention at all levels of government, Brian explained how NAHB is working to promote and expand green building efforts, including our development of voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines in 2005. NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB's close working relationship with NACo benefits our members by ensuring that our concerns are heard and understood when it comes to local regulations that affect housing affordability. Each year, NAHB hosts a joint NAHB/NACo Leadership Summit that allows for discussion of the issues affecting state leaders and home builders, and this too provides an outstanding forum for communication, collaboration and mutual understanding. Contact Brooke Ransom (x8584) for more information. [return to top] Subprime lending standards are being tightenedas banking institutions and regulators seek to preserve the long-term viability of a system that helps certain buyers surmount the obstacles to homeownership. At the end of February, Freddie Mac announced that it will cease buying subprime mortgages that have a high likelihood of excessive "payment shock" and possible foreclosure. Instead, the government sponsored enterprise will only purchase subprime adjustable-rate mortgages – and mortgage-related securities backed by these subprime loans – that qualify borrowers at the fully-indexed and fully amortizing rate. The company also said it would limit the use of low-documentation underwriting of these types of mortgages to ensure that future borrowers have the income they need to afford their homes.
Remodeling remained on course at the end of 2006despite the slower overall housing market, according to NAHB's latest Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the fourth quarter. The RMI tracks remodeler perceptions of market demand for current and future residential remodeling projects. Its current market conditions index edged up slightly, from 47.8 in the third quarter of 2006 to 48.2 in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. Meanwhile, the RMI's future expectations index moved up to 46.0 from 45.4. "While regional economies and housing markets certainly play an important role in demand for professional remodeling work, overall we see maintenance of high levels of remodeling activity and solid future prospects" in the RMI results, said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Mike Nagel, CGR, CAPS. Meanwhile, the RMI component that gauges the rental market indicated a strong increase in activity for that sector in the fourth quarter. Read more in NAHB's press release, or see the RMI tables online. Contact: Jim Lapides, x8451. [return to top] Builders reported somewhat better conditions for condosin the fourth quarter of 2006 than in the previous quarter and indicated greater optimisim about what the future may hold for their market. While the current-conditions component of NAHB's Multifamily Condo Market Index (MCMI) remained substantially lower than it was a year previously, traffic of prospective buyers was up a bit in recent months and NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders explained the situation in hopeful terms: "The condo market is coming back toward balance following the previous four quarters when the pendulum swung from red-hot to seriously cold," he said. "What we are looking for – and likely to find in 2007 – is a healthy and sustainable level of condo production that will fall short of the unsustainable levels registered during the earlier boom period, but that will meet current market demands." Read our press release for details, or view the MCMI tables online. Contact: Ann Marie Moriarty, x8350. [return to top] Addressing excessive taxes on affordable housingis the aim of a new toolkit for HBAs that is available from NAHB's Housing Credit Group. The Local Tax Assessment Tookit for Affordable Housing Programs includes a state-by-state analysis of existing tax assessment legislation and case law, as well as model legislation and other Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) resources that developers and owners can use to respond to assessments that increase their costs, threaten existing properties and discourage the development of new affordable housing. Several states have passed legislation addressing the valuation of affordable housing properties, and while many of these statutes require valuations based on income for LIHTC projects, others take a broader approach. The toolkit summarizes how affordable housing properties are assessed in each state and provides a successful model for legislation in states where the laws are not favorable. Read more in NBN Online, or contact Carmel McGuire at x8207 for more information.
Numerous new laws requiring verification of worker IDhave been passed in recent times in order to restrict the hiring of illegal immigrants. Home builders and other employers need to be aware of these laws and comply with them, or face stiff penalties. In 2006, some 120 such municipal and county ordinances and 84 statutes in 32 states were passed. Many of the new laws require employers to verify the identity and status of their workers, with the federal government's Basic Pilot Program being the primary means for obtaining this verification. Some laws actually provide a "safe harbor" for those who are found to have hired an illegal alien who was "verified" through the Basic Pilot Program. While several lawsuits have been filed recently to challenge the new laws, final rulings will take years to obtain, and in the meantime employers will need to deal with the requirements as they are written.
NAHB's "Buy Now" Ad Assistance program is off and running,with more than half a million dollars worth of matching grants already in the process of being handed out to HBAs that are conducting ad campaigns to spur home buying activity in their markets. As of March 7, seventeen HBA applications for funding had been approved, for a total of $504,000 in grants and a grand total of $1.43 million worth of advertising. By the program's end, $3 million in assistance is planned. The idea is to allow HBAs to conduct their own market-specific ad campaigns aimed at bolstering buyer confidence. Read more about this program online, or contact Niki Clark at x8061. NAHB Member Benefit: The "Buy Now" assistance campaign for HBAs is a prime example of how your NAHB membership dues dollars are being put to work for you. NAHB routinely devotes resources and expertise to support our local HBAs and their members, and this most recent program is one of the largest such efforts yet. The idea is to help home buyers see the positives of today's housing market and drive more business to your door using tried and true advertising techniques and messages tailored to each specific market. Also, please see NAHB's Web site for a variety of "It's a Great Time to Buy" materials that you can use right now. All of these helpful resources are available free of charge to NAHB members. [return to top] [return to top] More awards news from the IBS:
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