Chalkline Magazine Spring 2023

2023 Board of Directors OFFICERS

PRESIDENT Oleg Foksha, Foksha Homes

VICE PRESIDENT

Jordan Schweiger, Good Well Construction

SECRETARY/TREASURER

Andrew Wheeler, T. Wheeler Homes ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT

Santiago Sarmiento, Sarmiento’s LLC

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Jason Sawyers, Randy Fultz Custom Homes, LLC

FORMER PAST PRESIDENT

Jubal Frost, Focus Development

BOARD MEMBERS

Adam Kelley, Neighborly Ventures

Alyssa Wavra, Wavra Design Co.

Beth Rhoades, C & R Remodeling

Connor Reiten, PNGC Power

David Qualls, Parr Lumber

Fred Martin, F & W Fence

Jason Flores, Celtic Homes

Jed Bennett, Steve Bennett Construction

Jeff Reynolds, Home Fire Stove

John Eld, Bonaventure Senior Living

Justen Maron, Olsen Communities

Natalie Janney, MultiTech Engineering

Samantha Crabb, Cherry City Interiors & Design Association

Staff

Mike Erdmann, Chief Executive Officer mike@HomeBuildersAssociation.org

Haley Hamilton, Director of Shows & Events haley@HomeBuildersAssociation.org

April McVay, Director of Member Services april@HomeBuildersAssociation.org

Brad Nanke, Director of Safety & Training brad@HomeBuildersAssociation.org

Tracy Mitchell, Contract Accountant accounting@HomeBuildersAssociation.org

Home Builders Association of Marion & Polk Counties 2075 Madrona Ave SE Suite 100, Salem, OR 97302 tel 503-399-1500 | fax 503-399-0651 www.HomeBuildersAssociation.org

Welcome New & Reinstated Members

Bank of the Pacific

Kevin Thomas (503) 363-1124

Bank of the Pacific

Pam Woodcock (503) 363-1124

Closet Factory & Wall Beds of Oregon

Mark Zaugra (503) 692-2877

Coastal Farm - Albany

Jason Fritz (541) 968-6450

Davis Electric Inc

Brian Davis (503) 508-9855

Encore Glass

Desiree Holcomb (503) 581-2559

Garibay Realty Team

Erin & Ruben Garibay (503) 871-2672

Forty Five North Surveying LLC

Steven Howell (503) 558-3330

Home Insulation Contractors, Inc.

Daniel Fitzgerald (541) 926-7831

J Scott Builders, Inc.

Jerald Scott (503) 881-1612

Jed Construction & Remodeling LLC

Jose Luis Callejas (503) 989-4425

Ken Tooze Excavating, Inc.

Ken Tooze (503) 390-0510

Mallard Construction LLC

Drake Long (503) 409-2575

Northstar Quality Construction LLC

Marco Garcia (503) 932-9757

Oregon Woodsmen Tree Service

Ryan Sims (503) 551-5141

Premium General Construction LLC

Felipe Lopez Salazar (503) 910-6406

Rebecca Olsen Design and Construction LLC

Rebecca Olsen (503) 930-5034

Redtail Excavating Inc.

Paul Eckis (503) 979-6228

Salem Sign Co., Inc.

Brad Spady (503) 371-6362

SheBuilds LLC

Laurel Winkel (503) 830-2308

Steele Home Handyman and Cleaning, LLC

Dave Steele (503) 930-7765

URBAN HVAC/R

Spenser Davis (971) 930-6160

Westlake Royal Stone Solutions

MaddieCarde (206) 552-5148

The Spike Club is an exclusive group of members who contribute to the growth of the association by recruiting and retaining members. Spikes maintain a special status, have the respect of their peers as valued members of the HBA and are recognized for their efforts locally and nationally. To become a Spike, bring in six members to the HBA. Applications for prospective members may be obtained from the HBA office, or call to have one sent to the prospective member.

ALL TIME BIG SPIKE 1500+

John Gooley 2685.5

STATESMAN SPIKE 500+

Ric McNall 808.5

SUPER SPIKE 250–499

Mike Smith 483

John Mills 439.5

Rick Massey 435

Dan Dorn 371

Jeffrey Green 365.5

Chuck Foster 290.5

Jubal Frost 277.5

Mike Riddle 258.5

ROYAL SPIKE 150–249

Greg Conser 249.5

Steve Johnson 248

Jordan Schweiger 219

Tom Wheeler 209.5

Don Druliner 203.5

Randy Fultz 178.5

Rick Ziebell 172

Ken Hannegan 166

RED SPIKE 100–149

Kelvin Dettwyler 146

Rob Rardin 127

John Hammer 101

GREEN SPIKE 50–99

Matt Holstege 96.5

Brad Moore 92.5

Kent Kaufman 87.5

Rich Kansky 84.5

Larry Bilyeu 75.5

Bob Cavell 74.5

Eric Olsen 74.5

Don Sturgeon 67.5

Kathy Temple 65

Kerry Kuenzi

We are an association of building industry professionals committed to supporting our members. We advocate for balanced, efficient, and responsible development while promoting the social and economic values of homeownership in our community.

President’s Message

I hope you’ve all had a great start to the year. I know it’s been challenging to adjust to the changing market conditions and retool our mindset and work habits. I think if any year it’s important to be a member of the HBA, it’s this year. I love that most of the members are utilizing the tools the association provides to help keep your operation costs down as well as giving you the ability to grow and thrive. I’d like to share a few things we have coming up in the next few months that you should be aware of. We’re gearing up for this year’s Tour of Homes. We expect to have more entries this year compared to last year and we hope you consider participating. This year’s tour runs July 15th-23rd. The Golf Tournament is on July 17th. We have the annual Kick Off Party happening as well, date and location are to be announced at a later date.

As I think back to last year’s Tour of Homes, I was honored to be selected to build the PAC house. Alongside many amazing subcontractors, vendors and suppliers who are all members of the association, we came together to build a beautiful home to raise funds. These funds all go back to benefit us as members and are primarily used towards political advocacy in our local city councils and jurisdictions and help keep our SDC charges and fees reasonable. On a state level the PAC helps to stop the progression of rules and regulations that would hinder our industry with additional senseless requirements.

This year’s PAC house is already underway. It took some time to find a lot because, as we all know, land is very hard to come by. Once we found a property, a number of us past PAC house builders nominated Jordan Schweiger with Good Well Construction Inc. to build this year’s home. The house is off to a great start and looks to be well on its way to being completed by the deadline. We’re very grateful for all those involved that are donating their time and money to make this happen so we can once again raise a good amount for the PAC. If you’re interested in participating, whether it be donating material, labor and/or efforts, please reach out to the HBA and make it known. We would love to help you participate.

by Oleg Foksha 2023 HBA President

As we get closer to July, it would be great if you would spread the word about the Tour. We love to see as many people come as possible and the best advertising is word or mouth. If you’re a builder and you have yet to register your home to participate in the tour, please do so to take advantage of the early registration discounts. If you’re a subcontractor, supplier or vendor, remember you have the opportunity to rent garage space for advertising. This is a great opportunity to advertise and make your business known as we do see very large crowds coming through.

I encourage all builders, subcontractors, suppliers and vendors to keep working together and supporting one another within the association. It’s important to do so to thrive together and build our industry to be greater as we continue to serve our clients and put our stamp on the community. Together we make it better.

To get involved, sign up today. Go online to the HBA Website  www.homebuildersassociation.org or contact Haley Hamilton, Director of Events at 503-399-1500.

Sincerely,

Oleg Foksha

HBA, Builders Address Concerns with Salem Building Department’s New Permit Application Software

The Home Builders Association recently convened a meeting with the Salem Building Department to address concerns raised by HBA members about the city’s newly implemented ProjectDox software system used for building permit applications. The meeting was held in mid-March and aimed to discuss the software’s usability and its impact on extended permit review time frames. Numerous HBA members reported difficulties with the ProjectDox software platform, specifically related to the challenges in uploading plans, making changes to previously submitted documents, and the process for efficiently addressing comments and tasks from plans reviewers. These issues have resulted in longer than expected permit application processing times.

The HBA has shared with the Building Department examples of building permit applications that have experienced considerable processing delays. The Building Department has assured the HBA that it will take these concerns seriously and investigate changes that can be made to their processes to streamline the application processing and reduce the delays.

If any HBA members continue to face issues with Salem’s new permit application system, they are encouraged to contact Mike Erdmann at the HBA for further assistance.

We look forward to collaboratively addressing the issues with the city to ensure that their new permit application software results in a more efficient and effective process.

PWB is Getting Things Done!

by Natalie Janney, Multi/Tech Engineering, PWB Chair

Do you ever meet with a group of people and leave feeling more fire and excitement than when you arrived?

That’s basically PWB in a nutshell. It’s magic. My goal as the chair for this new group is to set it up for long term success. I think with the group we have, we are on the right track. As we get closer to the 1 year anniversary of the Marion and Polk Professional Women in Building Council formation, I want to share what we have done and where we are going.

We were able to finish out 2022 by completing our first big community project: remodeling the New Life Fellowship Room at Simonka Place.

At the beginning of 2023, we decided to take the lessons we had learned over our first 6 months together as a group and make a few changes. One of those changes is that we formed three subcommittees to really help achieve the goals we have for the group which are basically outreach, networking, support/education. In order to meet these, we created the Events, Fundraising, and Outreach/Education comments, each run by different members of the executive committee. The events committee is run by Beth Rhoades from C&R Remodeling. This committee will work on the details for the monthly events.  Currently, we will have a rotating schedule of a fundraiser, lunch and learn, and coffee chat.  This is set up to allow members to find events that fit into their schedule.  There will be overlap with fundraising as well as education/outreach.

Thanks to Our Sponsors:

The fundraising committee is run by Kyrsten Weis from Taylor Metal. This committee will work on events/programs to help raise money to front costs for events or for future outreach.  There will be some overlap between Fundraising and Events.  The fundraising committee will make future community projects like the Simonka Place remodel possible.

The Outreach/Education committee is run by Samantha Crabb from Cherry City Interiors & Design and Misti Miller with Radigan Remodeling. This committee will be focused on education opportunities for our members (like the lunch and learn topics) as well as community outreach.  This is where details will be worked out for things like CTEC, visiting elementary schools, and projects like the Simonka Place remodel.  There will be overlap with fundraising (since a lot of these activities require money) and events.

We have several excellent events scheduled for 2023 included Trivia Night at Gilgamesh (April 10th), a Coffee and Chat in May, Wine Night in June, and a Cornhole Tournament in August. The Cornhole Tournament will be open for anyone in the public. This will be our big fundraising event for the year. Keep your eyes open for more details to come.

There’s a lot to look forward to this year with PWB. You won’t want to miss it.

If nothing else, you can come to experience the magic.

Eugene Bans New Residential Natural Gas Installations

In a controversial move, the Eugene City Council voted on February 6th to enact a ban on new natural gas installations in residential construction, becoming the first city in Oregon to enact such a ban. Though the ban is limited to Eugene, the HBA of Marion & Polk Counties and builders statewide are following the issue closely as the outcome of the fight over natural gas installations is likely to impact residential construction throughout Oregon.

Local opponents of the gas ban, including NW Natural, the Home Builders Association in Eugene, and local business groups have mobilized quickly to refer the issue to voters, submitting a petition with more than 12,000 signatures in early March to place a measure on the ballot in November of this year, more than double the required number of signatures needed.

The HBA of Marion & Polk Counties expects to contribute financially to the campaign through our political action committee, given the statewide precedence of a ban on natural gas if not overturned by voters. While the HBA commends efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the HBA believes in preserving consumer choice as well as energy resiliency in times of power outages. In addition, we have concerns that mandatory requirements for alternative energy sources like electric heat pumps may entail higher upfront costs, which could deter potential homebuyers and negatively impact housing affordability.

Salem’s Climate Action Plan, adopted in the fall of 2021, included a call for banning natural gas installations in new construction, though the city has taken no action since that time to move towards banning gas. The HBA is closely watching bills introduced in the current legislative session that would ban natural gas in new construction statewide, as well as bills that would prevent cities from banning natural gas.

Housing Solutions?

The numbers are stark; can the Legislature craft answers?

By James Day

Housing, housing and more housing. That’s all you seem to hear, both nationally and in Oregon. Housing costs too much, there isn’t enough of it – affordable or not – and higher interest rates mean fewer Oregonians would be eligible to qualify for a loan even if a house were available.

It’s a devil of a fix and one that will carve a huge slice out of the work time of the Oregon Legislature in the 2023 session, which is expected to last until late June.

How bad is the need? Economists  estimate that Oregon is more than 100,000 housing units short of the current need. New Governor Tina Kotek’s first stab at the problem was to ask for an increase from an annual production of 22,000 units to 36,000 as well as provide $130 million to address homelessness.

How high are the rates? Nationally, mortgage rates reached a two-decade high of 7.08% for a 30-year- fixed loan in the fall before easing to about 6.73 in mid-March. Oregonians were facing the same harsh reality, with a 6.48% rate for the 30-year fixed. A year ago in March rates averaged 3.85% nationally.

All of these factors have trickle-down effects. The rate increase coupled with higher prices means that a homebuyer will face roughly a 49% higher monthly payment, year over year, on a median-priced home. And that higher payment translates to higher income levels being required to qualify for a loan. In the fourth quarter of last year a prospective homebuyer had to make at least $80,000 to afford a home at the national median price of $325,000. That’s a nearly 36% increase from the same quarter in 2021.

So what should the Legislature do? On March 15, the House passed House Bills 5019 and 2001 and sent them on to the Senate. The housing and homelessness package will address a narrow slice of the overall housing market, with its $200 million ($70 more than Kotek asked for) in funding aiming to get 1,200 homeless Oregonians off the streets within a year.

The first bills

Those in the building industry are hoping for broader and more aggressive actions, said Jodi Hack, chief executive officer of the Oregon Home Builders Association (HBA).

“It’s still early in the session but can I tell you the legislation they have passed so far – the “housing and homeless package” HB 2001 does not to solve the immediate housing crisis we are in,“ said Hack, who previously served in the Oregon House in District 19.

“The provisions around housing are based on holding local jurisdictions accountable for their needed housing supply analysis which we won’t begin to see any movement on for production for many years.  It could be helpful long-term but does not address

the problems we are in now nor does it help meet the governor’s goal of 36,000 units per year.”

HB 5009/2011 also includes $20 million toward the production of affordable modular homes and requires Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) to update a publically available statewide housing production dashboard on an annual basis. The dashboard would includes updates on the progress toward housing production by affordability levels as well as other data.

Cities that fail to meet their building targets could face action from the state Department of Land Conservation and Development. Such actions, which would require a judge’s order, could include the forfeiture of grant funds or other state allocations.

Also, HB 2001 requires cities with more than 10,000 residents to identify how much housing is needed in their communities in the next two decades and then work to make the building process less cumbersome and litigious.

Hack said that actions at the city level in conjunction with Oregon’s strict land-use laws that date to the 1970s long have influenced housing production. Which agency, city or state, poses the bigger challenge?

“Tough one.” she said. “Right now I would say the cities are our biggest barrier to housing supply, not necessarily our land-use system.”

One of the key goals for the session for Hack and others in the building industry is House Bill 3469, the “Right to Housing Act,” which was still in a house committee at Chalkline’s presstime.

“The legislation,” Hack said, “would speed up the approval process, decrease costs due to arbitrary design standards and lower the risk of lawsuits attempting to block production. This act makes it clear that Oregonians have a right to an adequate supply of affordable housing in residential zones, and protects residential applications from arbitrary process, expensive design criteria, and risk of appeal.”

Hack and the HBA also are watching with interest the progress of HB 3414, which is designed to “help with accountability and increase opportunity. We look forward to seeing where that bill goes in the session as well.”

Jodi Hack, CEO of the Oregon Home Builders Association

Commercial conversions

An intriguing piece of legislation in the legislative mix is HB 2984, which would require local governments to allow for the remodeling of commercial buildings for housing without needing a zone change or conditional use permit as long as the property already is inside the city’s urban growth boundary (UGB).

An experiment on the concept already is underway in Springfield, where a local developer purchased a 5,000-square-foot commercial building for $600,000. The developer plans to remodel the structure into 12 apartments.

According to Lane County Commissioner Dave Loveall, who testified before the Legislature in the first week of March on HB 2894, property taxes on the building, currently about $2,000 per year, would rise to approximately $14,000 per year once the apartments are built and occupied.

Loveall said that several similar buildings in downtown Springfield have been similarly converted and that “they have changed the city’s character.”

Loveall said that the innovation has led to new restaurants, outdoor picnic tables and retail stores and 34 new families living downtown in a walkable neighborhood.

HB 2984 also would limit the requirement that developers must provide parking for residents and require the housing, whether via renting or owning, to be aimed toward those earning up to 120% of the area’s median income. Systems development charges (SDCs), which builders are levied to pay for required

public amenities such as streets, sidewalks, sewers and water infrastructure, parks and schools, also would be waived.   Hack said she and the HBA like the concept but want the Legislature to be thinking more broadly on housing issues.

“While we support the conversion of commercial to residential, we believe this does not go far enough,” she said. “ It needs to include bare land (as well.”

As Oregon looks to boost housing production, finding land on which to build will be a significant challenge. Here is a look at some new housing along Auburn Road NE in Salem near what used to be a mushroom plant.

Photo: James Day

Portable Fire Extinguisher Training

One question that gets asked a lot is whether the Federal OSHA standards for portable fire extinguishers requires employees to perform “hands on” training with extinguishers. And the answer is not as simple as “yes” or “no”; a better answer would be, “it depends”.

First of all, the assumption is that unless you told them otherwise, it is reasonable to assume that any employee at your workplace could pick up a portable fire extinguisher hanging in their work area and try to use it to extinguish a fire should one start. Therefore, 1910.157(g) (1) states that “Where the employer has provided portable fire extinguishers for employee use in the workplace, the employer shall also provide an educational program to familiarize employees with the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the hazards involved with incipient stage fire-fighting.” The standard goes on to explain in paragraph (g)(2) that the “education” required in paragraph (g)(1) “must be provided to employees upon initial employment and at least annually thereafter.”

So, does “education” require hands-on training? If you refer to the definitions for Subpart L that appear in 1910.155, you will find that paragraph (c)(14) defines “Education” as “the process of imparting knowledge or skill through systematic instruction. It does not require formal classroom instruction.” In other words, at a minimum you must provide those workers with instructions on the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the hazards of incipient (early) stage fires, but no actual hands-on training is required by OSHA. Many employers handle this educational requirement by utilizing toolbox talks, safety videos, online fire extinguisher courses, and/or informational brochures on the required topics.

On the other hand, there are many employers who do designate some (or all) employees to use portable fire extinguishers. In fact, some OSHA standards, such as 1910.252(a)(2)(iii)(B) in the section for welding, cutting, and brazing (Subpart Q) mandate that a trained fire-watch be stationed nearby when hot work is being conducted. And that is where OSHA standard 1910.157(g)(2) for portable fire extinguishers comes into play. It states that “the employer shall provide employees who have been designated to use fire-fighting equipment as part of an emergency action plan with training in the use of the appropriate equipment.” And if we refer back to the OSHA definitions for Subpart F at 1910.155(c)(41), we see that in the context of this particular standard, “Training” means “the process of making proficient through instruction and hands-on practice in the operation of equipment, including respiratory protection equipment, that is expected to be used and in the performance of assigned duties.” Therefore, in addition to general instruction, hands-on

safety ENGINEERING SERVICES, INC

practice IS required for all employees who have been designated (or assigned) to use portable fire extinguishers.

At a minimum, trainees should get the opportunity to discharge the type(s) of portable extinguisher(s) they are designated to use as part of their training, but a live fire does not have to be part of the practice scenarios. Also, this is a good time to remind you that starting live fires under controlled conditions for practice can be very dangerous (and maybe even illegal in your area), so utilize trained professionals to conduct live fire drills after seeking and gaining approval from local authorities. There are many instances where local fire departments and portable fire extinguisher vendors provide this training to employees for free.

Employers also have one more option when it comes to portable fire extinguishers: If they write into their emergency action plan and fire prevention plan (covered in 1910.38 and 1910.39, respectively) that all (or certain) employees will immediately evacuate the building in case of a fire and that no one is to use an extinguisher (and train those employees about the plans), then neither education or training is required in portable fire extinguisher use for those employees. This assumes, of course, that there is no situation existing that specifically mandates someone trained in portable fire extinguisher use be available, such as in the welding standard previously mentioned.

So, to recap, employers who have portable fire extinguishers in the workplace must provide education on fire extinguishers for all workers, training for all designated workers, and nothing for any/all employees who have been specifically excluded in their emergency action plan from using fire extinguishers. And if you need one more thing to get your head spinning, just remember that the same requirements for hands-on training also apply to all employees who have been designated to use other fire-fighting equipment such as small fire hoses.

FULL SPECTRUM ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING SERVICES. 1155 13TH STREET SE • SALEM OREGON 97302 • 503-363-9227

The hexagonal grid used in honeycomb is the most efficient way to cover an area with minimal circumference or boundary.

Charles Darwin described it as a masterpiece of engineering, “absolutely perfect in economizing labor and wax.” The use of this shape reflects Hagan Hamilton’s ongoing commitment to proficiency and resourcefulness.

Much like a beehive, Hagan Hamilton is a humming, thriving community in which everyone plays a distinct role but is united in shared purpose. We are industrious, but also operate as a family — working toward something greater than ourselves.

Chris McLaran chris@haganhamilton.com

T.J. Sullivan TJ@haganhamilton.com

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