Home Affordability is Sacrificed for Safety

The City of Lakewood adopted the 2021 International Building Codes on May 8^th. This move will increase the price of new and existing homes and increase the city’s authority to regulate maintenance on private property. Multiple City Council members stated that these changes were necessary for public safety.

Safety

The safety factor was directed toward the adoption of the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. This new code will allow the building department to issue citations for public safety concerns on private property. Residents can now contact the city if they see broken concrete or inadequate railings on the property of their neighbors or landlords.

Lakewood does not have enforcement capability to police all properties so this will be resident driven, with the city retaining the ability for flexible, i.e. selective, enforcement. There is no timeline for compliance per code. Lakewood city staff vow to work with residents in cases of hardship.

As an example of why this code was necessary, the city cited the case of 940 S Ames St. By the city’s own admission, this property fell into disrepair through a series of unfortunate events leading to the city condemning the property. The city went through legal actions to require the building to be torn down within 90 days of property purchase.

The Ames property was a unique case in which two successive, related owners had personal issues, died and left the property to a third relative who was dealing with loss and extreme property issues. The probability is low that maintenance code violations could have fixed the situation and in fact, the demolition was demanded of the new owners.

The property maintenance code was approved unanimously although one Council Member cited concerns with intrusions onto personal property rights, and another Member cited concerns with the increased cost to lower-income homes.

Sidenote: The Ames property owners were required to have the site demolished due to the building being unsafe, unlike the recent case of the Holiday Plaza Shopping Center wherein Lakewood provided the owners an interest-free loan to accelerate demolition by 6-9 months. Both the Ames and Holiday Plaza situations appear to be a war on abandoned buildings, rather than directing efforts directly towards the homeless themselves.

Increased cost

The city also adopted the 2021 Residential Code and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, both of which raised flags for the higher-than-normal new costs they will impose. One 2021 study showed that new building codes have contributed to a 9.9% increase in home costs over the previous 10 years.

That increased cost was demonstrated in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire. Victims had to build their new homes to the new codes. One resident reported hearing estimates as high as $98,000 to meet the new regulations, according to the Denver Post. The town of Superior and Louisville ended up suspending the 2021 codes because of the extreme costs. The residents of Boulder did not have that same relief. Detailed cost estimates obtained by Louisville residents show an estimated $75,000 additional cost for their new home.

Due to the unique circumstances surrounding an emergency, there were many financial incentives available to those homeowners. Some of the residents voluntarily adopted the code after protesting it, according to the Denver Post, due to the availability of relief funds.

Costs in Lakewood will be borne by homebuilders and new residents. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the residential code update, only one code out of several, has a $6.5-$12,000 increased cost. That cost includes increased insulations and sprinkler systems for residences. The same report found that it will take 32-67 years of energy savings under current prices to pay that cost back.

The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, which has also been adopted by Lakewood, is a little confusing. It appears that new requirements such as having an electric vehicle charging infrastructure, all electric appliances, and carbon offsetting credits were proposed but removed, according to the New Buildings Institute. These removed provisions may be the source of much of the costs in original estimates.

All building code updates were adopted voluntarily by Lakewood. City staff provided options to remove the sprinkler provision but that option was not taken by Council, even though previous city surveys showed residents were not in favor of residential sprinklers. Lakewood is one of the only cities in the state to adopt that provision, which West Metro Fire has been working hard in favor of. All codes were modified before adoption per Lakewood’s local specifications (see ordinances). Except for the maintenance code, all updates were adopted with all in favor except for one dissenting vote by Councilor Janssen.

“It’s important that NAHB members and HBAs emphasize that there is no need for a state to update its energy codes in most cases. Adopting new building codes is expensive… and can be confusing for both builders and building officials.”

-National Association of Home Builders

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