Happy new year! As my time as NAHB chairman comes to a close, I want to reflect on a few major accomplishments our association experienced this past year.
Housing affordability was my top priority during my tenure as chairman. I was pleased when President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June that cites the need to cut costly regulations and creates a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing. I attended the White House signing ceremony and thanked the president for taking a leading role to help resolve the nation’s affordability crisis and for making housing a national priority.
That same month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized its repeal of a 2015 greenhouse gas rule for power plants and adopted new regulation in its place that does not adversely affect the housing industry.
A huge victory for our members came as the U.S. Supreme Court in June reversed a long-standing land use decision that made it nearly impossible for property owners to bring a Fifth Amendment takings claim in federal court. In Knick v. Township of Scott, the Supreme Court ruled that a property owner has “an actionable Fifth Amendment takings claim when the government takes his property without paying for it.”
In October, the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers repealed the 2015 waters of the U.S. rule, providing consistency among all 50 states and making the federal permitting process more predictable and affordable. The rule had been subject to legal challenges that halted its implementation, culminating in a decision by the U.S. District Court for Georgia that found the substance of the rule violated the Clean Water Act. The Georgia court remanded the rule back to the agencies to fix it.
In November, NAHB sponsored the first “Building the Dream” town hall in partnership with The Hill, a Washington, D.C.–based media group. The town hall took place in Minneapolis and was the first in a series of events and videos intended to engage with housing advocates and educate the public in advance of the 2020 election. Two more town halls will follow, complemented by editorial news features emphasizing housing affordability topics such as outdated zoning policies, excessively burdensome regulations, and the need to develop the workforce of the future.
During this critical election cycle, we want to make sure policymakers understand the barriers to affordability and hear about new ways to take on the challenge. We will continue to focus efforts on affordability via additional channels, including building up a skilled workforce through our affiliate the Home Builders Institute and our student chapters. And we will continue to educate members of Congress—and policymakers at the state and local level—about the costs of excessive regulations.
Our advocacy in 2019 saw real results, but our work on these issues will continue until the dream of safe, decent, affordable housing for every American becomes a reality.
There is no single solution to the challenges facing our industry, but I know our association is in good hands. Thank you for your support over the past year—it was a dream come true to serve NAHB and the industry I love.
