THE HOME BUILDER
January 2025
Page Two
The HomeFront Government Affairs News and Info
David Lehde Director of Government Affairs
The Value of Association Advocacy
With both of the bills having been signed into law by the Governor, the correction was to base the regula- tory fees on the cost of providing the service. There can be countless regulatory threats that creep up across the state. We are fortunate to have the govern- ment relations team at Texas Associa- tion of Builders to coordinate the effort to protect our members statewide. As was the case when one Texas city was considering the idea of linkage fees. Imagine an ordinance that would require paying as much as $30 per square foot for a home, only to be used to fund a subsidy that would increase the cost of residential construction and just price out more families. This is what TAB protected Association mem- bers from via an important legislative victory in 2017. Dallas BA government relations staff testified in support of the legislation. When you consider the regulatory cost of fees, it does not take long to add up the value of Dallas BA advocacy. We will cover more of this next month.
advocacy on the issue of building and development permit fees to the state legislature, originating two bills that were signed into law by the Governor. In 2019, during the 86th Texas Legislature, Dallas BA proposed leg- islation to correct the issue of cities and counties not basing the amount of building permit or inspection fees on the cost to perform these inspections. Instead, fees were often calculat- ed based on the cost or estimated value of the home itself. In coordination with the Texas Association of Builders, the Association successfully advocated for HB 852/SB 855 prohibits municipali- ties from using the valuation or con- struction cost of a residential dwelling to determine the amount of permit or inspection fees charged. In 2023, similar concerns arose on the development side. Again, Dal- las BA supported legislation, H.B. 3492, that prohibits municipalities and counties from considering the cost of constructing or improving public infra- structure in determining the amount of the inspection fees.
finds itself with an ordinance that can be argued to be an illegal “occupa- tions” tax or an improper taking. Examples of Dallas BA keeping impact fees from becoming excessive would be Denton and Fate. In Denton, 2024 saw the conclu- sion of a multi-year discussion on roadway impact fees. Dallas BA Suc- cessfully advocated keeping Denton Roadway Impact fees at 20% of the maximum allowed. This amounts to a discount of more than 30% of what was originally proposed, equating to an average savings from additional fees of more than $2,900 per multifamily and $6,000 per single-family home. When the roadway impact fees were initially implemented in Denton in 2016, Dallas BA was successful in getting them cut by a third of what was proposed to be assessed per home. Dallas BA members benefited from our advocacy on roadway impact fees in Fate in 2023 as well. Ast the Association’s urging, the Fate City Council Fate agreed to amend the pro- posed roadway impact fees to around $2,000 less than what was originally proposed for 2024, and phase in milder increases through 2025. Dallas BA has seen similar success in other munici- palities in Denton and Collin counties. In Dallas, the Association was very engaged as the City Council discussed amending their permit and service fees for the first time in nearly a decade. Dallas BA staff and members questioned the assumptions of a third- party fee study that was egregiously high. In an advocacy effort with our allied stakeholders, we were success- ful in amending many of the proposed new fees down in the final ordinance. Dallas BA has also taken our
“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” – Patrick Henry. 9 June 1788 – The Debates in the Convention of The Common- wealth of Virginia, On the Adoption of the Federal Constitution The Dallas Builders Associa- tion’s mission is to support all seg- ments of the residential building industry by enhancing our members’ ability to provide quality, affordable and sustainable housing. One of the avenues the Associa- tion uses for this is advocacy, with a vision to be the most trusted and re- spected source for housing. With a ser- vice area comprising 10 counties and many cities, there are plenty of policy areas for the Dallas BA to engage. For Dallas BA members, there is a value to advocacy. Pre-pandemic to post-pandemic, it adds up to thousands saved in regulatory cost and permit process corrections and that means the ability to get homes to market. One such regulatory cost is fees. Here are just some of the high- lights of Dallas BA fighting for our members. Fees, especially in the State of Texas, have two overarching themes of protection, for those on which the fees are being assessed, that must be met. A) They are proportional to the purported demand being put on city services per development and building. B) They are assessed relative to the cost of the service that the state allows the entity to assess them for. It is an effort to show that the claimed demand is assumed correctly and with transparency. Go too far, and a city
Registration Is Open for Rally Day 2025!
The Dallas Builders Association’s Rally Day will be Feb. 11 in Austin. Rally Day is the advocacy grassroots event for the Dallas BA, held at the Texas State Capitol. In February, Dallas BA members will have the opportunity to join us and meet with our service area’s state senators and representatives in the Texas Legislature. The event gives Dallas BA members
the opportunity to participate as we advocate for issues important to home- building and the state’s economy. Rally Day also provides an opportunity to network with other members. This is a FREE event for Association members only and includes bus transportation to and from Austin, lunch and dinner for attendees. Event registration is mandatory and must be made prior to Jan. 28 to attend. Partnerships are available on several levels. Click on the link below for more information and event registration. Rally Day 2025 Registration and Information >>
The Home Builder is published monthly by the Dallas Builders Association at 5816 W. Plano Pkwy., Plano, Texas 75093. Telephone 972-931-4840. BARCIE VILCHES, Editor
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