Attainable HOusing the cure to Spokane's environmental Problems?

Written by Ryan Smith, Government Affairs Coordinator
Spokane Home Builders Association

Over the last few years, Natural Gas has been a hot button issue in Spokane and Eastern Washington. We use it in so many different arenas of our lives right now. There has been some controversy recently in trying to get it banned in new housing developments, and even unhooked from existing ones. The ultimate goal is that it would lead to a decrease in Green House Gas emissions. At the Spokane Home Builders Association, we understand, and support, the public desire to create a greener, healthier environment for ourselves and our children. We share that goal, and use our knowledge and resources to work to build attainable housing for everyone. Unfortunately, a potential Natural Gas Ban would result in higher housing prices for everyone. Houses are already insanely expensive to build as it is; what with zoning regulations, land fees, labor shortages, and environmental initiatives increasing the price of a house by $100,000 dollars in some instances. We want to keep housing prices low, and keep our environment green.

The solution that we have been advocating for years is to build more houses. It might seem like an odd solution, but it truly is an effective combatant towards global warming. As it stands right now, buying a home is so expensive that 8 in 10 people cannot afford to buy a new home in Spokane. 80% of the people who live in this city simply are not making enough to pay the exorbitant housing prices we are facing today. This has caused so many of the workers here in Spokane to buy property in Idaho where the houses are more reasonably priced. The result of this conundrum: high commuter traffic levels.

A recent study conducted by Really Clean Energy for the City of Spokane outlined all the producers of Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) and the Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalents (MTCO2) in the area. The leading producer of both of these types of pollutants are Transportation and Passenger Vehicles. Residential Housing did not even appear on their list of contributors of MTCO2, and it only clocked in at 24% of the GHG emissions sector while Transportation accounted for 46%. Our issue with Greenhouse Gasses here in Spokane is not Natural Gas Hookups, but in fact people driving so far to come work here, and then turning right back around and driving back across the border. In building more attainable housing for our Spokane residents, we can cut down on all the cars idling on the highway every morning and evening. Once we have everyone secured in a home that was built within their price range, we can work together to tackle larger, global issues involving climate change.

www.SHBA.com
(509) 532-4990
5813 E 4th Ave, Suite 201
Spokane Valley, WA

The Spokane Home Builders Association is a member-driven organization that works to elevate professionalism in the residential construction industry, provide innovative resources and information to our members and engage in informative, effective advocacy on construction issues to create affordable housing options for the community. We promote, protect and educate the housing industry and our community.