Where Are We and Where Are We Going?
By Phil Crone, Executive Officer
I continue to be amazed with how quickly our industry and Dallas BA staff have adapted to the challenges posed by these last few weeks. Dallas BA members have continued working in a way that prioritizes the health and safety of our vital workforce. To help you do that, we have put nearly 400 gallons of hand sanitizer on local job sites! We’re not done yet.
We will distribute another 144 gallons next week. Click here to reserve what you need on a first come basis. There will continue to be a limit of 4 gallons per company and the cost per gallon will remain $40, which is roughly our cost. Thanks again to Tim Jackson Custom Homes and StrucSure Home Warranty for their assistance on this initiative.
On the advocacy front, we have done our very best to keep up with the litany of local, state and national changes. As these come at us, we update the Dallas BA’s resource page with analysis and links to the pertinent documents.
We have also distributed a very important survey that we need you to complete if you haven’t already. It will help us work for you. The survey’s SBA feedback is being conveyed to NAHB’s lobbying team, who is referencing it directly in their ongoing discussions with the White House and Congress.
Below is a summary of how we are working for you at all levels:
Locally:
- We have been very impressed with how cities and counties have worked with us to adapt to the new normal. There are still problems to solve, but we are troubleshooting those in cooperation with elected officials and key staff members.
- Information from several jurisdictions about the changes they’ve made is available on our resource page. Major updates this week include:
- Guidance for builders and developers trying to obtain tax and plat certificates in Denton County. Dallas BA Director of Government Affairs, David Lehde did an outstanding job working out a safe and effective manner for this to be done.
- City of Dallas permitting modifications. Staff has confirmed that they will accept county plats obtained online or those attached to title policies on building permit applications. Plats will not need to be certified until obtaining the stamp becomes practicable again.
- I’m honored to serve on the Collin County Economic Recovery Task Force as chair of the Construction and Real Estate committee. This week, I presented proven best practices with input from our members, local commercial construction companies, and our friends at the Collin County Association of REALTORS. These recommendations were shared with Governor Abbott’s “strike force” to reopen Texas.
- Dallas County recently voted to extend its “stay at home” order until at least May 15, two weeks past the statewide order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott and a few days after the governor announced plans to re-open businesses across the state.
Statewide:
- Governor Abbott issued Executive Order GA-16 on April 17 which began the process to reopen the state. Subsequent orders are expected soon with the first coming on Monday. The Dallas BA and TAB are working to ensure the subsequent orders continue to include residential construction and real estate as essential businesses. Ideally, these orders would also address conflicting county regulations on essential industries that create undo confusion especially in municipalities that span several counties.
- One thing to watch on Monday is where the Governor sets the fulcrum on the balance of power between himself and local officials.
Nationally:
- On Tuesday, the Senate passed a $484 billion relief measure to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation refills the bucket for two key small-business loan programs that ran out of money under the CARES Act by providing $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and $60 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Relief (EIDL) program.
- The relief package also includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing. The House is expected to approve the bill.
- Second to keeping residential construction essential, NAHB’s top priority is ensuring members have access to SBA funds.
- Challenges arose for some builders in the first round of funding because pre existing SBA guidance seemed to indicate that builders, particularly those building spec homes were not eligible. Of course, this was in stark conflict with the purpose of the more recent bill which is to empower small businesses to keep their staff employed while enduring troubled economic times. These issues are likely to be ironed out in a forth assistance bill due for Congressional approval next month.
Like you, I’m trying to figure out what comes next. We have rescheduled many of our special events and will wait for official guidance on what to do with those scheduled in May.
State and local officials must open up our economy to the extent that our healthcare system can handle it. This will require patience and pragmatism.
Living with the virus in our midst will involve balancing the horrific toll it is taking, especially on our seniors, and livelihoods that allow people to feed and shelter their families, civil liberties, education and social well being including the conditions and crimes that result from loneliness and isolation. I do not envy our elected officials. The pandemic presents few good choices for them. I do appreciate those who can articulate fact-driven policies that allow society to thread the rope through the proverbial needle. We are fortunate to have many like this in Texas at all levels of government.
Housing is more essential now than ever. Homes are our schools, our playgrounds and our sanctuaries. Together, with the courage to continue and the wisdom to do what’s necessary to protect our businesses and the workers who are vital to them, we will get through this.
The Dallas Builders Association will continue to empower you with the information, education and advocacy needed to keep housing safe essential and professional. Your membership and ongoing support fuels us and is more essential now than ever.