Just a quick response to Bob Wubbena about the new state building code, scheduled to take effect on March 15.
There are several areas of change.
The new energy code will generally save consumers money over the long run. Yes, there will be more upfront cost for more efficient heat pumps and other appliances. But once the utility bills roll in, the monthly savings on utilities will quickly exceed the additional monthly mortgage payment. This was adopted after extensive analysis, and the cost-effectiveness of the code was studied very carefully. It will likely eliminate a lot of potential future mistakes.
But the "sleeper" change in the code is what's called the "urban wildland interface" code. This will require removal of trees around houses on the periphery of cities. There will be huge additional costs for landscaping, many of which will have to be paid by the new owners after they move into scarified properties. This was done in response to the devastating wildfires in California, but in my opinion, they went too far and without input from the cities where these homes will be located. It's one thing in a truly rural area with a volunteer fire department that may take an hour to respond to a call; quite another with the professionals of Olympia, Tumwater, and Lacey FD3 who are there in minutes.
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