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Board accepts informational report on modular homes for disaster recovery and workforce opportunities
Summary
An informational hearing on modular housing highlighted factory-built units as a fast option for temporary and permanent housing after disasters. The Board accepted a report summarizing testimony and requested follow-up on insurer classification, labor coordination and technical standards.
The Board of Equalization accepted an informational report summarizing a recent hearing on modular housing as an option for post‑disaster recovery and to expand affordable housing supply. Member Terence Vasquez, who led the hearing, said the session highlighted potential benefits including reduced construction time and lower per‑unit costs compared with traditional site‑built housing.
Witnesses described a range of modular approaches: factory‑produced single‑family modules suitable as accessory dwelling units or temporary housing; multifamily modules for larger developments; and innovations in fire‑resistant materials and roofing systems. Vasquez described a site visit to a Watts production facility and compared the factory process to automotive assembly: “it’s almost like an assembly line that you would see in the auto industry.”
Speakers and members discussed barriers that remain: insurer classification and underwriting of modular units, labor arrangements and agreements, utility and permitting coordination, and higher costs in constrained markets (for example, speakers noted an $800,000 per‑unit figure for a complex in a high‑cost mountain community where site preparation and utility extensions were expensive). Labor representatives said they are interested in participating provided projects meet negotiated standards.
Decision: the board accepted the informational hearing report for the record and directed staff to place the item in a follow‑up work plan, including further outreach to insurers and labor representatives to address classification and labor questions.
Why it matters: proponents say factory production can cut delivery timelines and deliver temporary or permanent housing more quickly in disaster areas; board members emphasized the need to align insurers, labor and local permitting to make the approach widely usable.
