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Commission debates barriers to moderate‑income housing, agrees to form working group
Summary
Commissioners spent much of the Oct. 8 meeting discussing obstacles to moderate‑income housing—citing state building‑code requirements, soil/compaction tests, insulation and blower‑door standards and local engineering costs—and agreed to convene an informal working group/task force of builders, engineers and county staff to prepare a list of recommended regulatory changes to present to county and state officials.
A lengthy Oct. 8 discussion at the King County Planning Commission focused on impediments to moderate‑income and attainable housing. Commissioner Doug Heaton (introduced by the chair and speaking at length) argued that mandates tied to the International Building Code and state adoption—examples he cited included higher insulation R‑value requirements, blower‑door airtightness testing and geotechnical/soil compaction testing—have materially increased construction costs and constrained homeownership. “They’re turning Utah into a state of apartment dwellers versus homeowners because people…
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