Public Policy Roundup
August 5th, 2009 by Jim HilzIt’s time for a Public Policy update on the top issues we are following at the BIA on behalf of our members. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about anything on this summary.
Political Action Committee. The Political Action Committee of the BIA has continued its fundraising work on behalf of our industry and we will have 100 people attending a Clippers’ at the new Huntington Ball Park on this Thursday, August 6. This is a make-up date from the rain-out in July. If you would like to attend at this late date, please contact Jana at 891-0575. Tickets must be paid for with personal checks and are $60 and include food and drink.
AEP Line Extension Charges. We had a recent conference call with the staff of the PUCO, utilities companies from around Ohio (including AEP), and builders from around the state. Several BIA members participated in this call. The PUCO is trying to have a standard rule/policy regarding costs for line extension services. We are concerned with both cost and service standards in central Ohio. We are waiting follow up from the PUCO and OHBA.
The important message from our conference call is that most utilities consider underground service to be standard service, not premium, particularly when there is underground service around a site.
Columbia Gas Service Installation. OHBA is helping to organize a meeting with Columbia officials in late August to continue our efforts to improve service predictability and reasonable cost certainty when dealing with Columbia. The Developer’s Council of the BIA met with Columbus officials a few months ago; however, significant challenges remain.
Prevailing Wage. We celebrate the Ohio Supreme Court’s recent ruling which upheld our position on prevailing wage applicability in public/private partnership developments. This issue impacted our overall economic climate and also potentially had direct impact on residential and commercial redevelopment projects.
Local Community Fees. We are continuing to meet in selected communities to discuss excessive charges (Pickerington – Impact Fee’s and Delaware City – multi-family capacity charges are two examples). If you have particular communities and circumstances that you think the BIA should know about, don’t hesitate to give me a call.
Columbus Fire Hydrant Policy. Columbus has implemented a new policy to restrict the use of hydrants by developers/builders for purposes of watering new sod installations. This policy is a part of the City’s efforts to better comply with OEPA regulations. We are exploring alternatives that might allow some flexibility for continuation of this service.
Franklin County Conservation Zoning. A committee of BIA members has been meeting with the County and townships regarding their desire for a new zoning classification. If you have any interest in this issue, let me know so you can be connected to this group.
Developer’s Council meeting is today at 3:30 p.m. to discuss these issues and more.
Columbus Single Family Building Permits – The City of Columbus 2009 building permit numbers are providing some reasons for optimism. Through July we are at 579, compared to 602 for all of 2008.