THE HOME BUILDER
Page Two
October 2022
Milestone Anniversaries
Fall’s Regulatory Round Up The continued growth in the re-
David Lehde Director of Government Affairs
was going to be a much more costly fee increase for builders was reduced after Dallas BA weighed in. Now, the city, which is expected to experience significant growth, is plan - ning to discuss, review and possibly amend their impact fees. Denton’s im - pact fees, as initially implemented, have been reasonable thanks to the efforts of this Association in 2015 and 2016. But material and land costs are likely to have an even bigger impact as the fees undergo their required review. The matter is scheduled to be pre - sented to the Oct. 12 work session of the Planning and Zoning Commission, followed by a Developer Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 13, and a presentation to the City Council Work Session on Oct. 18. Dallas BA will be making the industry’s voice heard. You may have heard that Dallas BA has been engaged in addressing some permitting concerns in the City of Dallas. If you have not, we are glad to welcome you to your first read of Home Front. On Sept. 6, Dallas’ Development Services Department Director and Chief Building Official, Andrew Espinoza, along with Deputy Building Official James Metzgar and Assistant Director of Land Development Sam Eskander, visited with Dallas area builders here at the Dallas BA to give an update on Development Services (DEV) realign - ment process and overall effort to ad - dress permitting delays and department efficiency. The department’s new leadership has shown a desire to make things better for builders and has continued to seek input from Dallas BA members. DEV staff provided an update on their recent transition taking ProjectDox to a cloud-based delivery system in August and the recent training classes offered to builders who use the system. Along with an update on the department sees its improvement on permit time - lines, DEV staff also gave further detail regarding its rollout of their expedited plan review process (RSVP) and work to bring on preliminary approvals for submittals from single family develop - ment homes with identical plans. In addition to its continual advo - cacy at the local level, Dallas BA is preparing itself for the upcoming legis - lative session in Austin that will gavel in during the month of January. It is not uncommon for government relations staff to find themselves in Austin multiple times during the session to be part of the home building sector’s statewide advocacy effort.
gion, and the process of area munici - palities updating their construction and planning codes, means the Dallas Build - ers Association remains on the watch for regulatory and fee changes that can impact the ability to provide homes that area home buyers can afford. In Celina, the City Council on Sept. 13 voted to approve the adoption of the 2021 I-codes, including the regionally recommended amendments provided by the North Central Texas Council of Government’s Regional Codes Coordi - nating Committee (RCCC), of which Dallas BA is a voting member. This is important for two reasons. One, the RCCC recommendations are a product of deliberation of area stakeholders, including area building officials, that helps provide some relief from increases in construction costs. And two, because it shows Celina is recognizing that the benefits home con - struction brings to their area’s economy. There was, however, a provision in early drafts of the ordinance that raised the concerns of Dallas BA. Tucked inside the section of amendments related to single-family residential construction was an amend - ment related to “Builder Product Op - tions.” The language stated that “Upon request by a prospective resident, build - ers shall make best efforts to accommo - date and make available the following products — residential fire suppression sprinkler system, electric car charging station, and solar panels.” This language could have opened the door to a number of problems for builders who provide most of the homes in Celina. One would have been the availability of trades to install such after- market products should it later become a mandate. Even with custom builders, there has always been a need to ensure that the home buyer has a thorough un - derstanding of the cost increase related to the installation and any follow-on maintenance. Dallas BA voiced our concerns to both city staff and council, and the pro - vision was stripped from the ordinance before the council’s vote. As part of their effort to help builders be ready for the code updates, the City of Celina is hosting a builder meeting on Oct. 5 to give information re - garding significant changes that impact those building under the IRC. Earlier this year we reported on the City of Denton’s amending of their park fee-in-lieu and park development fees. It was the first update the ordinance had undergone since its inception. What
Nov. 8 will be the general election date for what has been a very busy and well-advertised election year. Along with local county candidates of interest, Dallas BA will monitor races for both the State Senate and State House of Representatives, as well as key leader - ship positions including the Governor. There will also be races for all of the U.S. House of Representative seats in our service area. Dallas BA members and staff have already met with many of our U.S. House Representatives and will continue to reach out to those who the Association supports in our area’s state legislative races. Early voting begins on Oct. 24. It is important that those who are elected to make decisions that impact housing understand that it is important to follow the advice of those who pro- vide housing. An important advocacy tool is HOMEPAC of Greater Dallas, the non-partisan action committee of the Association. With the upcoming general election, and the busy municipal elec - tion season we will see in the Spring, HOMEPAC will be very active. October begins the 2022/23 cycle for HOMEPAC of Greater Dallas. As - sociation members who are interested in participating or have questions about our advocacy efforts should contact the Director of Government Affairs. Infor - mation can also be found on Dallas BA’s advocacy page at https://dallasbuilders. org/advocacy/. Builder Contracts Package The Texas Association of Build- ers’ Contracts Package sub - scription is available to builder members for $399.99 (plus tax). It’s your blueprint for typical construction and remodeling transactions in the State of Texas. In addition to reflecting new legislative mandates, the package includes more addi - tions and enhancements that ever before. The subscription is good through Aug. 31, 2023. DETAILS
The Jarrell Company – 75 Years Eric Neel accepts the 75-Year Milestone Award representing seven and a half decades of continuous membership in the Association.
60 Years Associated Truss & Lumber Co. 35 Years
Covert + Associates Redi Mix Concrete 25 Years John Lively & Associates 5 Years Shower Doors of Dallas Milestones Presented by:
Last Call for Dallas Permitting Survey Builders with active or recently-permitted projects in Dallas are strongly encouraged to complete a brief, five question, survey regarding the amount of time it took (or is taking) for their permits to be approved. The individual data will not be shared, only the overall averages will be used to assist the Association’s advocacy efforts. Take the Survey
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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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