Each week we will be sending you news updates and articles of interest that have been recently released in an effort to provide you with the most current information pertaining to the industry.

The following articles are are from this week (02/16/16 - 02/23/16).

Thank you,


Construction Defects Law Still Hindering Housing Projects

Construction Defects Law Still Hindering Housing Projects
By  Jessica Pace  
Saturday, February 20, 2016 
 
La Plata County housing authorities would be the first to say that multi-family construction is integral to a holistic housing landscape, but a state law still stands in developers' way when it comes to building such units.

Earlier this month, Durango city officials considered crafting a local ordinance that would counter Colorado's construction defects legislation, which allows homeowners associations to easily bring class-action lawsuits against condominium and townhome builders.

City planner Phillip Supino said the city decided to wait on pursuing any countering law until it becomes clear what legislative action may happen this year. There are plans to move forward with the ordinance if the state does nothing. Meanwhile, like builders across the state, local developers are stalling high-density projects that could diversify housing in La Plata County.

If a builder were to develop 100 residential units under a single owner in an area like Three Springs, the premium could be in the realm of $30,000 to $40,000 per year. Under an HOA, the same development could cost hundreds of thousands.

Chris Jones of Mountain West Insurance said small-scale projects - 10 units or less - can more easily secure insurance at a reasonable cost than larger developments, but there are still options for the latter.

"If you're doing a 100-unit project, the general contractor should get a wrap-up policy, which can be as low as $40,000," Jones said.

Wrap-up policies, or owner-controlled insurance programs, for multi-unit projects have become popular under construction defects laws, allowing all contractors involved to get insured under a single policy.

But no policy is absolute in its coverage or without risk.

For full article, click here.


Rain Barrel Bill Returns

Rain Barrel Bill Returns
Feb 15, 2016 6:15 PM MST
By Andy Koen
 
PUEBLO -

Rain barrels are designed to conserve water by trapping some of the runoff that would ordinarily flow into storm sewers and keeping it available for use later when things dry out. But in the arid State of Colorado, using rain barrels to irrigate lawns and gardens is technically illegal.

State Representative Daneya Esgar from Pueblo wants to change that.

"When you fill up your rain barrel with rain that comes off of your roof and you use that to water your garden instead of turning your hose on and leaving it water for an hour with treated water, you realize where are your water is coming from,"  Esgar said. "You might think a little bit differently about it and might help conserve the water that we need in Colorado to make sure that we maintain our great resource."

The prevailing theory currently keeping Colorado homeowners from using rain barrels is that run-off from residential homes eventually flows through storm sewers into creeks and drains that feed interstate rivers. So, trapping that water at the source could harm cities and states downstream. 

Esgar thinks that theory is flawed. She carried a similar bill last year that was defeated in the State Senate.  During the interim session, State Senator Ellen Roberts asked Colorado State University to study whether residential rain barrel use causing any downstream injury.

"CSU came and did a great presentation to the interim water committee basically saying this is absolutely no injury this doesn't hurt downstream users so once we heard that report we decided to go ahead and try again this year," Esgar said. 

House Bill 16-1005 would limit consumers to using just two rain barrels per household, for a maximum storage capacity of 110 gallons. The water must be used for irrigating lawns and gardens.



Ballot Initiatives Would Hike Colorado's Minimum Wage

Ballot Initiatives Would Hike Colorado's Minimum Wage
Feb 18, 2016, 6:18pm MST

Business leaders shot down several attempts at the Legislature last year to raise Colorado's minimum wage. This year, they may have to spend more to defeat a new attempt at the ballot.

Colorado Families for a Fair Wage - a newly formed group that organizers say is composed of low-wage workers and small-business owners - filed two proposed constitutional amendments with the Secretary of State's office on Thursday that would raise workers' minimum hourly pay to $12 over the next four years.

Both would bump the state minimum wage, now $8.31 an hour, to $9.30 at the start of 2017 and then increase it 90 cents per year. The difference between them is that one measure would increase the wage by inflation thereafter and the other would raise it by cost-of-living increases.

Raising the minimum wage is a nationwide populist movement that has caught the attention of Democratic presidential candidates as well. Legislative Democrats in Colorado ran two bills to raise the statewide wage to $12.50 in 2015, but Republicans killed both.

Backers would need to get nearly 100,000 valid signatures in order to get either measure on the statewide ballot if a title-setting board approves of its language.



Colorado Association of Home Builders
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