Joe Amon / Connecticut Public Radio
Connecticut homebuilders are pushing back against legislation that would allow municipalities to require new buildings to meet high efficiency standards.
The bill (HB 6572) would authorize municipalities to adopt a so-called “stretch” building code that would apply to new or substantially renovated buildings larger than 40,000 square feet. Developers would have to demonstrate that the buildings will use at least 10 percent per square foot less energy than the maximum levels permitted under the state building code.
Enacting a stretch energy code would put Connecticut in line with Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, all of which give municipalities the option of going beyond the state building code in the area of efficiency. And a major climate bill recently signed into law in Massachusetts will boost its voluntary stretch code to net-zero by 2023; that would mean new buildings would have to produce as much energy as they consume.
Annual Parade of Homes event being held this weekend wfsb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wfsb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Governor proposes $90 million for state capital investment
Department of Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein presented Governor Scott s Capital Investment Grant Proposal to the Senate Economic Development Committee this week. The proposal would allocate $90 million over three years for capital investment grants to businesses and non-profits. Regional Development Corporations and Regional Planning Commissions would identify eligible projects. Twenty-five million dollars would be dedicated to outdoor recreation projects.
Senators expressed concerns about how the Agency of Commerce and Community Development would select projects. Commissioner Goldstein said they would consider ready or near-ready proposals that will leverage other financing, with projects funded in every region. The RDC/RPC inventory of projects is a work in progress, and Commissioner Goldstein said she would provide a list to the committee when it is ready.
Connecticut single-family home sales have spiked over the past year to levels not seen since 2005, but don’t expect an equivalent surge in new construction, area builders say.
While home construction increased notably in 2020, it wasn’t nearly to the same scale as home sales activity. Experts say soaring prices for key materials like lumber and uncertainty about how long the recent demand wave might last have created hesitation in many builders. Some have resisted an admittedly strong urge to take the financial risk to build more speculative homes in order to provide badly needed inventory in a tight housing market.
Governor lets controversial H315 become law without his signature vermontbiz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vermontbiz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.