There is a simmering conflict between the home-building industry and the community.
While a well-designed and executed development plan is a joy to behold and a very welcome addition to the community, unfortunately a few builders are solely profit-driven and have a cynical regard for the existing codes and enforcing agencies. New homeowners can be stuck with homes riddled with defects with little recourse.
The conflict has reached a boiling point in the current legislative session. Homeowner advocates, sympathetic legislators and building industry lobbyists are engaged in a bitter struggle. At issue is House Bill 1393 providing the Attorney General with the authority to analyze homeowners’ complaints, investigate and mediate construction defect claims and impose a three-year warranty. The Department of Licensing would have the authority to suspend the license of builders with outstanding claims.
Bill 1393 passed the House on March 11 (52 yeas, 45 nays). A companion Senate Bill 5895 with essentially the same provisions passed the Senate on March 11 (25 yeas, 24 nays). These slim margins of approval demonstrate the continuing clout of the builders’ lobby. Hopefully a compromise bill will pass in this session, but the issue remains in doubt.
The driver for the current legislation is the Cooper Crest Development in west Olympia. In 2006, a triumvirate of Triway Industries, Premier Homes and SoundBuilt Homes received a permit to construct 140 homes. These new homes were to be built to the new Low Impact Development standards. When owners began to move in, many failures to accommodate the applicable codes surfaced.
Both the Washington State Department of Ecology and the City of Olympia have tried to effect compliance with the existing codes, but their attempts have been met with delaying tactics. In September 2008, Olympia issued an ultimatum that either the necessary work be completed or the performance bonds released.
The above legislation must be enacted to protect new homeowners. Of great concern to area residents is the proposal by a subsidiary of SoundBuilt Homes to convert the Northshore Golf Course in Northeast Tacoma into high-density housing. This would be the largest development in Tacoma’s history, the environmental stakes are higher and the potential impact on the community infrastructure severe. The ability of this developer to fund and properly complete this proposed project must be called into question.
Gene B. Foster, NE Tacoma
