THE HOME BUILDER
March 2023
Page Two
The HomeFront Government Affairs News and Info
David Lehde Director of Government Affairs
Are You Registered for Rally Day? The most important thing you can do
attend, please contact us and get your Rally Day registration form in as soon as pos- sible, as we have to secure logistical details a couple of weeks in advance. Rally Day partnerships are still available. Please contact the Director of Government Affairs at David.Lehde@ DallasBuilders.com. for more information. Details will also be discussed during the March 9 Government Relations Committee meeting hosted here at Dallas BA. Local Update Multiple municipalities are making code and fee updates. Prosper recently approved their local adoption of the 2021 I-codes, including the International Residential Code and Energy Conservation Code. Dallas BA was provided an early draft and offered review. Prosper has made use of the often mentioned COG Regional Amendments. Dallas will continue its code adoption in early March. The proposed amend- ments have been posted for review. This includes the IRC, IBC, and IECC. Dallas BA has reviewed the amendments and submitted preliminary concerns regarding problematic energy code proposals. Those proposals call for electric vehicle charging station ready and solar ready requirements. The EV Ready Space provision man- dates that one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses have a designated parking space that is to be provided with a higher volt dedicated branch circuit for the use of electric vehicle charging stations. There are requirements related to multifamily as well. This provision is not a requirement in the 2021 I-codes, rather it is an option listed in the appendix. In 2021, the Regional Codes Coordinating Committee (RCCC) voted down an attempt to make it a rec- ommended amendment in the NCTCOG regional amendments. Also added via amendment are Solar Ready provisions that require electrical panel space to be reserved for the installa- tion of a dual pole circuit breaker for future solar use. This was also not a requirement in the 2021 I-codes and only an option in the appendix. An attempt to make it a
recommended requirement in the regional amendments was voted down at the RCCC. In a rebuttal, Dallas BA voiced that these items would more appropriately be addressed via an option accompanied by an incentive, to better meet the city’s goals, as opposed to a mandate that will be paid for by homeowners who for a product most of them will never use. The City of Denton will hold its public hearing to set the rate per home for roadway impact fees on March 7. The maximum allowable fee presented in the city’s impact fee study has increased to $20,538, a sizable increase over the current $9,808. Council discussions have centered around whether to set the rate at 30%, 40% or 50% or the maximum fee, with possible increases phased in per year after that. Federal Update At the federal level, NAHB recently
joined six other organizations to send a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, voicing concerns over a recent rulemaking proposal that will only add to the challenges new housing faces in securing transformers for developments. The joint stakeholders’ letter warned Granholm that a proposed efficiency rule, related to distribution transformers, would require manufacturers to “transition to a different type of steel, which is largely un - tested, less flexible and more expensive.” The letter also warned that the existing supply chain of the alternative steel is limited and mostly foreign-sourced, creat- ing unnecessary cost burdens and further delay. Housing developments across the nation are already facing delays in securing needed transformers. Dallas BA is monitoring the supply challenges of distribution transformers here on a local level.
for your industry in Texas right now is to register to attend Rally Day. The deadline to register for Rally Day is March 15. The key grassroots event for the Association’s legislative efforts at the Texas Legislature, Rally Day provides our members an opportunity to travel as a team to the Texas Capitol on March 29 to meet with our service area’s State sena- tors and Representatives. This is part of a statewide effort where we will join HBAs from around the state to impress upon the legislature the economic benefit that home building brings to Texas and the need for a regulatory environment that protects the availability of housing. It is critical for our state legislators to understand the depth and breadth of our membership, as it pertains to the housing sector, as well as the economic impact it has on Texas. Rally Day provides that op- portunity via the small group meetings that are pre-scheduled with the legislators and their staff from our service area. For those who may be on the fence about attending Rally Day, rest assured that you do not have to know anything about the legislature or any pieces of legislation to participate. We will have a team cap- tain for each meeting. These are staff or members who have been in these meetings many times before and have an understand- ing of the policy items Dallas BA will be highlighting that day. Your presence helps in supporting that message. And, as the meetings progress, we have found that almost every member finds some point in the meetings where they can relay insight from their field that helps bring the mes - sage home. You are all experts on what is occurring in the market and the struggles your industry faces. Basically, just be yourself. On the morning of March 29, mem- bers will board the bus and travel to Austin. There is usually a brief ceremony held on the Capitol steps and Dallas BA will meet for a brief lunch nearby, followed by meetings in the Capitol. Members begin to reboard the bus for the return home around 4 p.m. that day. We ask that if you are planning to
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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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