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Committee schedules hearing on S328 amendment to add universal-design requirements to modular housing pilot
Summary
The House Committee on General and Housing will hear testimony on draft language for S328 that would require modular housing bought through a state pilot to include universal-design elements; members debated whether the state needs a statutory definition and how detailed DHCD’s report should be.
The House Committee on General and Housing scheduled a public hearing to take testimony on an amendment to S328 that would require modular housing purchased through a state off-site construction pilot to include universal-design elements, the committee said.
Representative Burrow argued the change would normalize accessibility, expand the pool of available housing for people with access needs and seniors, and be cost-effective when units are ordered in bulk. "When we're thinking about universal design about the universal part of universal design, the housing is actually open to the whole housing market," Representative Burrow said, citing data she said came from Realtor.com and other sources.
Cameron Wood of the Office of Legislative Council walked the committee through draft 1.2, explaining it would replace section 4 of the pilot language and add a B2 subdivision requiring that "housing units funded through the pilot program shall incorporate universal design elements to ensure accessibility to the greatest extent possible to all individuals regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability." Wood said the draft also expands a DHCD report to ask whether the state should adopt building-code elements related to universal design.
Members pressed for clearer direction to DHCD on the content of the report. One lawmaker said a simple yes-or-no recommendation would not provide the nuance the committee would need and urged language asking DHCD to include options for "how to enact building-code elements" related to universal design rather than a binary recommendation. Legislative staff responded when asked whether a statutory definition of "universal design" exists, "Not to my knowledge."
The committee discussed prior work that was supposed to define universal design as part of an earlier study but was removed during negotiations. Representative Burrow said she was told the VHFA and program administrators did not use funds set aside for accessibility in a previous program because accessibility was not defined, and she proposed starting with the pilot program rather than a statewide mandate.
Members identified witnesses they want to hear first, including officials from the Division of Fire Safety, DHCD, 802 Homes, manufactured-home specialists and a modular-industry representative, to help the panel determine whether prior study work is duplicative and what feasible building-code provisions might look like. A committee member recommended contacting state agencies familiar with HUD standards for additional technical guidance.
The committee agreed to reconvene at 9:00 a.m. the next day to receive testimony on the draft language and then revisit the wording; no formal vote was taken. The session adjourned.
