08-11-2008, 03:43 PM
Jay, to a large degree the building environment your experience is based on - California coastal - is indeed an affordable housing nightmare. The primary basis for that is twofold.
The first is political. During the tenure of Ronald Reagan as governor the property taxes in California went so high that there was a tax revolt called Proposition 13. It rolled back real estate taxes in a major way. The result was that the counties were forced to raise their fees. So permits and planning efforts became, and still are, very, very, very expensive in Cal. The last house I did in Malibu had permit costs alone of $30,000. My house permit here was $325.
The second was disasters: The earthquakes in California were so expensive in repair that FEMA put forth a new criteria after the Northridge Earthquake. Instead of people surviving the earthquake events (which they did) the new requirement was for the buildings to do so (which they now do). The geologic and engineering requirements became so stringent that affordable housing in California became as extinct as the California Brown Bear. The good news is that your average pool side cabana in Cal will survive an 8.0. The bad news is it costs $250,000.
This island is slowly, slowly following the lead of the west coast as do most western states. The Big Island is not yet driven by the same forces that you experienced in SoCal. Geez, we are on the 1991 UBC. That's ancient. So you should not necessarily expect the same exact thing to occur here. This island has not had the devastating Ronald Reagan experience, earthquake or hurricane which would ratchet up the building standards. Yet. Until that time I believe we can expect things to advance at a rather leisurely pace. The PCDP is not the driving cost mechanism you suspect it to be and has no resemblance to the forces that trash affordable housing in California.
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The first is political. During the tenure of Ronald Reagan as governor the property taxes in California went so high that there was a tax revolt called Proposition 13. It rolled back real estate taxes in a major way. The result was that the counties were forced to raise their fees. So permits and planning efforts became, and still are, very, very, very expensive in Cal. The last house I did in Malibu had permit costs alone of $30,000. My house permit here was $325.
The second was disasters: The earthquakes in California were so expensive in repair that FEMA put forth a new criteria after the Northridge Earthquake. Instead of people surviving the earthquake events (which they did) the new requirement was for the buildings to do so (which they now do). The geologic and engineering requirements became so stringent that affordable housing in California became as extinct as the California Brown Bear. The good news is that your average pool side cabana in Cal will survive an 8.0. The bad news is it costs $250,000.
This island is slowly, slowly following the lead of the west coast as do most western states. The Big Island is not yet driven by the same forces that you experienced in SoCal. Geez, we are on the 1991 UBC. That's ancient. So you should not necessarily expect the same exact thing to occur here. This island has not had the devastating Ronald Reagan experience, earthquake or hurricane which would ratchet up the building standards. Yet. Until that time I believe we can expect things to advance at a rather leisurely pace. The PCDP is not the driving cost mechanism you suspect it to be and has no resemblance to the forces that trash affordable housing in California.
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Assume the best and ask questions.
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