Latest news with #BIAW
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New building tariffs could make it harder to buy a home in WA
This story was originally published on New electrical service could hike up costs for homeowners in Washington. According to a press release from the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is proposing 30% and 40% tariff increases for line extensions. This would include charges to new service lines and extensions, as well as extensions to plats. BIAW argued that these tariffs are too high and could impact the future of home building. 'These increases will be catastrophic to the home building industry in Washington state,' BIAW Legislative Director Andrea Smiley said. 'Already 80% of households in Washington can't afford a median-priced home. Every added cost prices more households out of homeownership.' BIAW noted that one of the best ways to build homes in Washington is directly on undeveloped plats. With PSE's proposal, this could mean that the new cost development would be $82.69, according to the BIAW. 'Washington residential home builders struggle to keep up with the demand for new and affordable housing in Washington,' Smiley said. 'Ever-rising costs of materials, permits, impact fees, and other regulatory costs only make it worse.' A report by the Washington Department of Commerce stated that Washington needs to build 1.1 million homes over the next 20 years in order to keep up with housing needs projections. In 2021, the Growth Management Act (GMA) found that in order to prioritize affordability, housing and utilities 'should cost no more than 30% of household income.' Yet, recent federal data finds that most Washington residents are currently paying more than that. 'Builders in PSE's service area cannot bear the cost of this nearly 40% increase,' Smiley said. 'Because they have to show a level of profit to qualify for financing to build new homes, they will be forced to pass this cost on home buyers, making new homes even less affordable.' PSE's request is currently being reviewed by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC). BIAW is urging the UTC to 'consider the harm a 30% to 40% tariff increase for PSE-exclusive services will cause homeowners, home builders, and the public.' Those who want to submit public comments on the matter can do so by visiting this form.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge won't compel state panel to scrap building codes targeted by gas initiative
A gas ring on a domestic stove powered by natural gas. () A Thurston County judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to force the state Building Code Council to move faster in aligning energy rules for new construction with provisions in the natural gas initiative Washington voters approved in November. But Superior Court Judge John Skinder said he hoped the legal effort launched by the Building Industry Association of Washington 'does put the council on notice.' 'This type of action, it does have a purpose,' Skinder said as he granted the state's motion to toss the case. The Building Industry Association of Washington spearheaded the effort to pass Initiative 2066, which became law Dec. 5. It amends and repeals regulations and laws intended to move the state away from natural gas and toward technology like electric heat pumps in new construction. Among its targets are revisions to the residential and commercial building energy codes that took effect in March 2024. Those rules, which offer builders permitting incentives for choosing electric heat pumps instead of natural gas furnaces, are unenforceable, the group says. Following November's election, the homebuilding association pressed the Building Code Council to erase the rules. Council members declined. Instead, they opted to have their technical experts review those rules and initiative language and recommend any changes needed to bring everything into alignment. The builder group sued in December to force the council to act faster than the timetable set out in its mid-November meeting. They argued for emergency rulemaking to resolve conflicts between the new law and the rules. On Friday, July Simpson, an assistant attorney general representing the Building Code Council, said the association was seeking a way around the process with its complaint. Sydney Phillips, representing BIAW, disagreed. She said association members sought clarity on a 'consequential' issue — which codes are enforceable and which are not — to ensure they are in compliance. While the court could direct the council to undertake emergency rulemaking, it wasn't a specific request of the association, she said. Following Skinder's ruling, a BIAW official said a new complaint would be filed against the Building Code Council in the coming days contending its actions violated a state law known as the Administrative Procedures Act. Meanwhile, a lawsuit to invalidate the entire voter-approved initiative is proceeding in King County Superior Court. Opponents sued in December, contending Initiative 2066 is unconstitutional because it runs afoul of a provision limiting citizen initiatives to no more than one subject and requiring them to contain the full text of the portion of state laws they would alter. A judge will consider the arguments in a March 21 hearing. Plaintiffs in this lawsuit include Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Action, Front and Centered, King County and the city of Seattle. Washington is the sole defendant.
