San Francisco remodeler Mike Hamman, of Michael Hamman General Contractors, says from cities to mature suburbs, residents increasingly want a voice about what is being built in their neighborhoods. Hamman believes the trend of people moving to urban areas and making substantial changes to existing structures will drive an increase in notification bills.
Remodeler Jeff King of Jeff King & Co., also in San Francisco, says that the notification bill is understandable in a city such as his, where buildings are densely packed property line to property line. “It’s the city’s way of keeping hearings out of the building department,” he says.
Photo Credit: Kyle T. Webster
Earlier this year, a councilman in Montgomery County, Md., introduced a bill that would require homeowners to notify adjacent property owners 30 days in advance of their intention to file a building permit. Raquel Montenegro, associate director with Maryland National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA), says the bill has been delayed for vote for the next session but that the MNCBIA will follow the bill and continue the dialogue with the council.
“None of these [complaints] kill projects, but it does make them more costly, and more time-consuming. You might need an architect to help you with something like this as opposed to doing it in-house,” Hamman says.
Mandatory Sick Leave
Two federal proposals involving sick leave are on the docket for Congress. The Healthy Families Act, introduced in early 2007, would require seven days paid leave for employers with 15 or more employees. The 2007 Family Leave Insurance Act would provide eight weeks of paid leave to workers needing time off for the birth or adoption of a child; to care for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious illness; or for their own serious illness.
Susan Eckerly, vice president of federal public policy at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), in Washington, D.C., says that both proposals have companion bills in the House. They were not voted on in the current Congress and will have to be reintroduced next year, which she believes is likely for the Healthy Families Act.
Mandatory sick leave laws have been approved in several cities, including San Francisco in 2007 and this past November in Milwaukee.
King says he was already trying to do the right thing with his company policies, and dislikes the administrative effort it takes to comply with the new law. But he’s trying to view it in a positive light. “In theory, it makes for a strong company culture,” he says.
In Milwaukee, although voters approved a sick leave bill in November, the city’s chamber of commerce has filed a lawsuit to have the law rescinded.
Several states are also active in this arena. A sick leave proposal was taken off the 2008 ballot in Ohio. “That was for a few reasons,” says Vince Squillace, executive vice president of the Ohio Home Builders Association. “One, it is being discussed federally, and two, the Ohio economy is in a near depression, so it’s not the time to fiddle with economic issues.”
A proposal in California was killed by the appropriations committee, but may be reintroduced next year. The NFIB says that the issue is also up for debate in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Interior Design
All across the country, local groups are banding together to fight an effort by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) to introduce regulations that could make it harder for designers in kitchen and bath companies, design/build firms, and most small remodeling companies to ply their trade.
The proposed laws vary, but most will require those who practice any type of interior design to be a graduate of an accredited interior design program, and have a predetermined level of education and experience.
Edward S. Nagorsky, general counsel and director of legislative affairs for the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) said that a proposed California bill so broadly defined interior design that it could have covered painting, specifying products, and site changes by contractors. The bill is currently being held in committee.
In 2008, there were at least 30 similar initiatives at the state and local levels that introduced either title or practice limits. None have been enacted, according to the Interior Design Protection Council, a nonprofit organization formed to resist this type of regulation.
Governors in Massachusetts and New York vetoed practice bills. The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and the NKBA oppose what they referred to in a joint statement as “restrictive and unnecessary” regulation across the country.
Lead Protection Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency’s new lead rules affect all remodelers working in homes built before 1978. “Certain work practices in the rule must be performed by a Certified Renovator,” says the National Association of Home Builders’ environmental policy analyst Matt Watkins.
Watkins says that taking an EPA-accredited course certifies the person performing the work, but the firm performing the work must also be certified.
The rule also requires remodelers to provide an EPA pamphlet to clients remodeling houses built before 1978.
As of April 2009, Watkins says, states can establish an enforcement program that, if approved by the EPA, transfers enforcement power to the state. According to national speaker and author Brindley Byrd, the milestones in the Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule (RRP) are as follows:
April 22, 2008: Rule enacted
Dec. 22, 2008: Remodelers required to distribute “Renovate Right” pamphlet to homeowners and facilities
April 22, 2009: Certified Renovator training program begins
Oct. 22, 2009: Contractors may begin applying to become certified firms
April 22, 2010: Full implementation of the RRP.
GREEN PROGRAMS
Though there are many local green home certification programs across the country, there are two specifically aimed at providing national standards.
One is LEED for Homes, a four-level rating system for high-performance houses that was introduced in Jan. 2008 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The program requires outside verification and performance standards based on eight categories, including water efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Builders work with a provider and use documentation to register the project with the USGBC.p>
Existing homes undergoing extensive renovations are also eligible to participate in the program. In addition, the USGBC partnered with the ASID to create Regreen , the first nationwide green remodeling guidelines. These guidelines are organized around 10 common remodeling project types, but do not provide certification.
The second national standard is the National Green Building Standard being developed by the NAHB. The draft, which covers remodeling, single-family, and multifamily construction, is complete and is awaiting approval by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
According to Kevin Morrow, program manager for the National Green Building Standard, the program contains both mandatory and optional components and also allows for adjustments appropriate to specific regions.
FIRE SPRINKLERS
The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) will require sprinklers in single-family homes and town houses as of Jan. 1, 2011. More than 90% of states use the IRC as the basis for new residential construction. Though the code only addresses new construction, jurisdictions can make modifications that could require sprinklers in remodeling projects.
“In some jurisdictions, the sprinkler code does kick in for additions or in some cases based on the percentage of house being remodeled.” says Jeff Shapiro, executive director of the International Residential Code Fire Sprinkler Coalition.
In Oct. 2008, the NAHB filed a request to appeal the standard; a ruling should come in 2009.