State and Local Reporter - 02/09/2006 (Plain Text Version)

Barry Rutenberg, Chair
Gainesville, Florida

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In this issue:
Virginia Builders Rally in Richmond
Development Approval and Permitting Process Ranks as Top Industry Concern
Legislative Priorities from Around the Country
New Study Measures Housing's Impact on State Economies
EOC Scholarship Program Assists State & Local Education
11 Indicted in ‘Eco Terrorism’ Case
Illinois, Colorado Consider Affiliated Business Legislation
NOR Bills Debated Throughout the Country
Midterm Elections to Stir Powers in the States
UPDATE: U.S.-Mexican Agreement-In-Principle Will Help Alleviate Cement Shortages, Builders Say
Save the Date: NAHB 2006 Legislative Conference
NAHB State and Local Issues Fund: Fighting for the Housing Industry
Deadline for Legal Action Fund Applications Is Coming Up

NAHB State and Local Issues Fund: Fighting for the Housing Industry

During IBS 2006 in Orlando, Fla., NAHB awarded grants to HBAs throughout the country fighting industry battles with national implications.

NAHB's State & Local Issues Fund (SLIF) supports state and local home builder associations (HBAs) by providing financial assistance so that HBAs may successfully deal with legislative, regulatory, or ballot issues that have national significance to the housing industry or are a common industry problem whose resolution could be precedent-setting and might not succeed without NAHB’s financial support.

As a result of action at the IBS board of directors meeting, SLIF assistance will be provided for:

Visitability. In October 2002, the Pittsburgh City Council began deliberating a proposed ordinance that would have effectively mandated that all new residential construction and significantly renovated homes be designed with “visitable” features. With the help of the mayor and the city redevelopment agency, the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (BAMP) was able to convince a majority of the city council to appoint a visitability task force.

The task force recommended an abatement of $2,500 in property taxes for homeowners who purchase new or renovated homes with visitable design. In the fall of 2004, the city’s solicitor issued an opinion that the city did not have the statutory authority to offer a tax abatement program for visitable design. Legislation was introduced in 2005 that would grant the tax credit authority exclusively to the City of Pittsburgh. That bill is currently stalled because it only affects one taxing body in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, so attention by the legislature is limited.

BAMP was awarded funding to help enact model legislation that would permit all local governments in Pennsylvania to offer visitability tax credits.
Energy Code. In 1999, Michigan enacted the Michigan Uniform Energy Code (MUEC), which included NAHB’s standard for determining cost-effectiveness, making MUEC the nation’s only truly cost-effective residential energy code. The MUEC was included in the Single State Construction Code Act, creating a single statewide construction code in Michigan. The Act prohibited local amendments to the Code and required that any revisions to the MUEC be tested against NAHB’s cost-effectiveness definition before those revisions could be adopted.

In 2004, the state discarded this consensus code and replaced the MUEC in its entirety with the International Residential Code (IRC). The Michigan Association of Home Builders (MAHB) sued the State, arguing that it lacked the authority to amend the MUEC by adopting the IRC provisions. An injunction was subsequently issued barring the state from enforcing the IRC provisions pending further proceedings in the lawsuit. A trial is set to begin in 2006.

MAHB was provided funding to educate the public about the importance of the MUEC. The MAHB hopes this public education campaign will serve as a model for other states tackling energy code issues.
Zoning. The City of Dallas recently passed an ordinance allowing residents to initiate, through petition, the creation of an “overlay zoning district” aimed at controlling the size and scale of new homes built in older, mature neighborhoods. The new district, with a minimum size originally set at just a few acres, would govern the size and scale of new homes with provisions addressing building and lot issues, including the number of stories, height, and garage placement.

The Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas received funding to perform a comprehensive market analysis study in an area seeking overlay district status, including the direct market and tax impacts to the housing industry in the overlay boundary before, during, and after a district is created. The Greater Dallas HBA thinks planning departments across the country where this issue is being debated could use the study’s results to address ordinances under consideration in those counties.
Endangered Species. The northern pine snake is not a federally-listed threatened or endangered species and is common in much of its range in southeastern New Jersey. It is, however, listed as a threatened species in New Jersey. New Jersey’s own comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy acknowledges that the northern pine snake is secure and stable on the national level. Additionally, the state acknowledges that the species is locally abundant in New Jersey. The New Jersey Home Builders Association (NJBA) argues that there is a lack of sound science to support the listing of the pine snake as threatened in New Jersey.

NJBA was awarded a grant to assist in the delisting of the northern pine snake as a threatened species in New Jersey. This grant will go towards securing and synthesizing data about the pine snake, identifying sightings of the snake through computerized mapping, the reviewing and analyzing of the data by experts. In addition, the initiative will include the preparation of the delisting petition and testifying in support of the petition.
Data Quality. In 2000, the U.S. Congress approved the Data Quality Act directing the Office of Management and Budget to issue government-wide guidelines that provide policy and procedural guidance to federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by those agencies.

The HBA of Bucks and Montgomery Counties and the HBA of Chester and Delaware Counties were provided funds to spearhead a legislative and public relations effort to reform Pennsylvania’s rules and regulations governing state agencies’ use of scientific reports and studies. These HBAs would like to replicate federal Data Quality Act at the state level and develop model legislation that other HBAs could use in their states.

The deadline for SLIF applications that will be reviewed at Spring Board is April 6, 2006. To learn more about these and other programs, please visit the NAHB's website section on Issues Fund Projects. For more information on the State & Local Issues Fund, e-mail Gerry Keegan in the State & Local Government Affairs department or call him at 800-368-5242 x8326.