The Snohomish County-Camano Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Department
The item at the very top of our agenda was to protect and preserve the mortgage interest deduction. This deduction has been in force for over 100 years and has been a very important benefit for homeowners across the nation. In addition to talking about the mortgage interest deduction we also asked for support to prevent regulators from implementing proposed quality residential mortgage policy requiring a down payment of 20-percent.
A REALTOR® Call to Action was launched to coincide with our visits on both of these issues a hopefully you have already responded to the call on both issues. If not, please take a moment to visit www.realtoractioncenter.com and take action on both of these key issues. Other topics discussed also included: continued funding the National Flood Insurance Program, Commercial Market Liquidity, and Reform of Government Sponsored Enterprises such as Fannie and Freddie. We found general support across the board from our elected leaders on these issues, but we want to make sure our message is received as loud and clear as possible that Homeownership Matters.
For more information about the 2011 NAR Mid-Year Meetings in Washington D.C. please contact ryan@sccar.com.
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SCCAR members on the capitol rotunda steps at our 2011 Hill Day in Olympia.
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2010 was a very busy year for SCCAR’s Government Affairs Program beginning with last year’s Legislative Hill Day in Olympia. The event was a huge success with a turnout of 600+ REALTORS® combined from all over the state to deliver the message to politicians to keep their hands off real estate when searching for revenue. With yet another multibillion dollar deficit looming, we will need to match or beat that turnout to thwart potential tax increases or a new sales tax on services. Join us in Olympia on January 20, 2011 and help us get to our goal of 700+ REALTORS® in attendance.
Our 2010 County Hill Day continued its annual tradition of success. SCCAR members met with the County Executive and County Council Members to talk about various housing and planning policies facing the county. The main focus of this visit was to urge the council to do all they can to help the housing market fully recover and to plan smartly for the future by not restricting valuable options for accommodating growth. Recognizing the need to help the housing market recover, the council passed an impact fee deferral ordinance that waives fee collection until closing. This ordinance is a giant step toward getting the housing market back on track and will help ensure adequate housing supply when the market returns to normalcy.
In the fall of 2009, the REALTORS® scored a victory when the State Building Code Council decided to remove the requirement making fire sprinklers mandatory in new construction. Unfortunately however, they still left it in the code as optional for local municipalities to adopt. As a result, SCCAR has now had to take the fight to every city in the county. Fortunately, we have been successful in convincing most of the cities in the county not to adopt the fire sprinkler portion of the code. In fact, to this date, only three cities in Snohomish County have included fire sprinkler requirements in their building code updates. The City of Brier included the requirement for all new homes larger than 5,000 sq ft, the City of Mountlake Terrace set the threshold at 4,000 sq ft and larger, and the City of Edmonds set the threshold at 3,000 sq ft. Due to the fact that the ordinance will only apply to larger homes and that there are in fact no existing footprints of this size in either city, the total impact of the ordinance is expected to be minimal.
This was a busy year for sign codes. Two cities in Snohomish County went through the process of updating their sign codes this year and SCCAR was right there to make sure that the new codes balanced the aesthetic needs of the community with the business needs of REALTORS®. Marysville and Mukilteo both adopted sign codes similar to Mill Creek and Lynnwood which remove the limits on the number of temporary A-board open house signs allowed. While the restrictions on open house signs were relaxed, both cities still do not allow the smaller directional signs that are left in the ground.
Like the state, local municipalities continue to struggle financially to make ends meet. We will continue to stay alert and actively monitor all city and county activity in 2011 to make sure they do no harm to real estate as they attempt to balance their budgets. We will also take proactive approach to meeting with our local elected leaders to maintain our positive relationships and ensure no surprises creep up on us in the coming year.
To get involved or find out more information about SCCAR’s Government Affairs Program, please contact ryan@sccar.com.
Our members Get Involved
Our Legislative Affairs Committee consists of 2 joint committees, the Government Affairs Committee which determines which positions SCCAR will take on various issues, and the RPAC Committee who decides which political candidates to endorse, and works on our relationships with our elected officials.