Lynden, construction industry chafes against Inslee’s coronavirus restrictions
Construction projects across the state are stalling in light of Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order, and that includes Whatcom County.
Many commercial and residential construction sites have ceased work to comply with the order from the state, which declares construction a non-essential service.
“In our residential segment of our company, we are completely shut down,” said Scott Walker, vice president of homebuilder Rush Residential.
Rush has seven housing divisions in the South Sound and builds between 80 and 100 homes a year, said Walker, who is also the current president of the Pierce County Master Builders Association. The company also manages 1,700 residences and a commercial division for medical facilities and apartments.
“We’ve had to board up all of our sites, so we don’t have theft or vandalism, which has already begun,” Walker said.
In Whatcom County, one city also appears to be chafing under the restrictions. Earlier this week, Lynden City Administrator Mike Martin released a letter encouraging the building community “to continue its work wherever it can be done prudently and safely.”
“It is the city’s policy to rely on the good judgment of the building community to keep its workers safe,” Martin said in the letter.
Martin also directed staff to contact him first before shutting down a project.
“Until that conversation has taken place it is the city’s policy that work continue, uninterrupted,” Martin said in the letter.
In a letter clarifying his position that was released on Thursday, April 9, Martin said the city is allowing projects with approved permits dated before Thursday, March 26, to start and continue to completion. This applies to both residential and commercial projects.
As companies work to determine which projects can continue across Washington, some advocacy groups are banding together to get the state to roll back some construction restrictions while ensuring workers are safe.
The Pierce County Master Builders Association is following the lead of its state association, which has been in contact with Inslee and his office.
The Building Industry Association of Washington also is seeking some changes to the order.
“We continue to talk to the governor and his staff about the impact to our industry, and we have been joined by a number of industry associations,” said Jennifer Spall, communications director for the BIAW.
Change sought
Inslee has stood by his decision that residential and commercial construction are not essential, citing the progress Washington state has made in flattening the COVID-19 curve.
Still, some are working to change his mind, citing growing impacts.
“Our industry employs more than 165,000 people in our state, generating $23 million in family wages every day to our economy,” Spall said. “We are hearing from members across the state who are concerned about the future of their workforce and of their business; with more immediate concerns such as theft and working to ensure job sites are safely secured from spoilage.”
Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, sent a letter to Inslee’s office on Wednesday, asking him to re-open private construction.
“Working to stop the spread of COVID-19 is not only a matter of public health, but also a matter of economic stability,” Corry wrote in the letter. “It is not my intention to downplay the significance of the health measures that are necessary to mitigate and prepare for the medical management of this pandemic, but rather to simultaneously protect our workers and economic future. We must create a path for Washingtonians to get safely back to work.”
Corry included a 39-page General Construction Health and Safety Plan published by Fulcrum Environmental Consulting, a Yakima-based environmental services provider supporting construction owners and contractors for both private and public development. The plan outlines safety standards for contractors.
In Pierce County, Walker didn’t think that construction would halt in light of a stay-home order.
Walker had kept watch of other states that had implemented stay-home orders across the country, many of which had allowed construction to continue.
“We thought we were going to be able to continue to operate,” he said.
Now, he says the impacts are trickling down to families — for Rush Residential, it’s eight families — who had purchased a home and are waiting to move in.
“They’ve done everything in preparation for moving their family, and they’re stuck,” he said.
The MBA sent a letter to Inslee this month, requesting that homes under contract to a buyer be allowed to complete construction and inspections using remote/electronic means.
The BIAW is confident that construction can continue while remaining safe for workers, as other states are doing amid stay-home orders.
“Across the nation, residential construction is continuing and embracing best practices from other states and from the National Association of Home Builders,” Spall said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Lynden, construction industry chafes against Inslee’s coronavirus restrictions."
