The Blueprint: Sign Up Today to Sponsor Event for Gov. Walker
ALSO: Special Election Split on June 12th • U.S. Supreme Court Sends Wisconsin Redistricting Case Back to Lower Court • From NAHB: Nearly 1/3 of Multifamily Development Costs Stem from Regulations
Sign Up Today to Sponsor Event for Gov. Walker
We are holding a very important event with Governor Walker immediately following our Member Meeting Day on Wednesday, July 18th at the Glacier Canyon Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. We are asking for your financial commitment to be a co-host for this important fundraising event.
We have host levels available at $5000, $2500, $1000, and $500, and we need your help today as a host to help us raise $20,000 or more for Governor Walker's reelection effort.
Recently, we learned from Governor Walker's campaign that any host committee member that commits to a $1000 or above host level will have an opportunity to have a professional picture taken at the start of the event with Governor Walker as a thank-you for your financial generosity.
Sponsorships can be paid with a personal credit card via the Builders Direct Fund, or by check, invoicing, or credit card over the phone at (608) 242-5151 ext. 12.
With Governor Walker's leadership since 2011, the WBA has been able to achieve great things to make housing for Wisconsin families more affordable, and this is a great opportunity to help support him with an eye towards November 2018.
Special Election Split on June 12th
Last week, there were two special elections held in Wisconsin, one for a state senate seat in northwestern Wisconsin and another for the state assembly held in a district that reaches across Dane, Columbia, Marquette, Green Lake, Dodge, and Fond du Lac Counties. Each party claimed victory after the special elections, with the democrats picking up a seat in the state senate and the republicans holding an assembly seat.
For State Senate Minority Leader Jen Shilling, it was another talking point that she can use while raising dollars for the November general election. In January 2018, Shilling also picked up seat in the 10th Senate District and now she is 2-0 in 2018 and has closed the gap on the GOP majority to 18-15. Democrat Caleb Frostman defeated State Representative Andre Jacque by just over 800 votes to flip the seat. This seat has not sent a democrat to the state senate since Gerald Ford was President.
In the state assembly, Speaker Robin Vos got the win he was looking for on Tuesday when Jon Plumer defeated democrat Ann Groves Lloyd with an unofficial total of 4834 to 5713. Vos invested a great deal of time and money in the race on Plumber’s behalf, and he is now able to say there is no “blue wave” coming for the GOP, especially anything that would jeopardize his majority in that house where the GOP currently holds 64 of the 99 seats.
Voters in the 42nd Assembly District will again have a chance to vote for either Groves Lloyd or Plumer in November, as they are the only candidates signed up to run for that seat on November 6th. In senate district 1, Senator-elect Frostman is the only democrat on the ballot for the fall. Jacque will face political newcomer Bill Nauta of Washington Island in the GOP primary on Tuesday, August 18th.
U.S. Supreme Court Sends Wisconsin Redistricting Case Back to Lower Court
As the United States Supreme Court continues to release decisions before completing their work this spring, they announced on Monday that they were sending a case related to the legislative districts in Wisconsin back to the district court. The court did not rule on the merits of the Wisconsin maps, which locks in place the current legislative maps in Wisconsin that will be valid for the August primary and November general election.
After the decision to send the case back to the district court was announced, several democrats released statements in support of legislative efforts to go to a “nonpartisan” method for drawing legislative maps. The state most often held up as the “nonpartisan” way to draw legislative maps is Iowa.
State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) released a statement calling for the passage of legislation next session to address this issue. “It is time for legislators from both parties to come together and pass a real non-partisan redistricting law that will take the responsibility for drawing legislative district boundaries out of the hands of the politicians in Madison and replace it with one that gives the voters a voice in the process and at the ballot box,” Hansen stated.
From NAHB: Nearly 1/3 of Multifamily Development Costs Stem from Regulations
Regulation imposed by all levels of government accounts for an average of more than 32% of multifamily development costs, according to new research released today by NAHB and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). In fact, in a quarter of cases, that number can reach as high as 42.6%.
Apartment and condo development can be subject to a significant array of regulatory costs, including a broad range of fees, standards and other requirements imposed at different stages of the development and construction process. However, until now there had been no previous research done to analyze the extent of this regulation. This joint research effort surveyed NAHB and NMHC members to quantify how much regulation exists and how much it is adding to the cost of developing new multifamily properties.
Breaking down the government regulation costs showed that an average of
- 7% of regulatory costs come from building code changes over the past 10 years;
- 5.9% is attributable to development requirements (such as streets, sidewalks, parking, landscaping and architectural design) that go beyond what the developer would ordinarily provide; and
- 4.2% of the costs come from non-refundable fees charged when site work begins.
“The home building industry is one of the most highly regulated industries, and the multifamily sector is particularly subject to these obligations,” said NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom home builder from LaPlace, La. “Housing affordability is a huge issue throughout the county, and this new research only further illustrates how the layers of excessive regulation translate into higher rents and reduced affordability for consumers.”
Although local governments generally have authority for approving development and adopting building codes, state and federal governments are increasingly becoming involved in the process and layering on additional levels of fees and regulations.
“The current regulatory framework has limited the amount of housing that can be built and increased the cost of what is produced,” said NMHC President Doug Bibby. “At a time when states and localities are struggling to address housing affordability challenges, public and private stakeholders should work together to streamline regulations and take the steps necessary to expand housing in communities across the country.”
Developers can almost certainly expect average costs to be higher now or in the near future due to the effect of recent regulations that went in place at the end of 2017, such as the new Silica Rule. Further, the survey does not account for other price-influencing factors such as the effects of recent tariffs on building materials, or the extent to which local jurisdictions empower citizens to oppose multifamily development in their communities.
The full study can be viewed at: http://www.nahb.org/mfcostofregulation.