NAHB NEWS EPA Rescinds Post-Construction Stormwater Rule withdrEPA announced in July that it is awing long-delayed federal Almost 80,000 Starts in 2016 Were Tear-Downs scant statistical eAlthough tear-downs can be flashpoints for public opinion, there is vidence of their real impact on the new homes market. The Census Bureau doesn’t specifically track new homes constructed on sites where a previous residence was torn down or where there is evidence of a previous residential structure. To fill the data void, NAHB polled members earlier this year about teardowns via its monthly NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey. Based on those responses, NAHB economists estimate that about 10.2% of single-family starts in 2016 — about 79,300 homes — were teardowns. That is significantly higher than the 55,200 tear-downs that NAHB reported in 2015 when they accounted for about 7.7% of singlefamily production. That increase mirrors the continued recovery of the single-family housing market, which recorded about a 10% increase in single-family starts in 2016. It may also reflect a shortage of developed lots which builders are facing in many markets. More than 40% of the tear-downs last year — 33,400 homes — were in the West. About 30%, or 23,800 homes, were in the South. The Northeast accounted for 9,800 homes, or about 12% of the total. About 15% of all tear-downs, or 12,300, were recorded in the Midwest. Read the full report in NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog. 32 HBRA of Fairfield County | SUMMER 2017 regulations that would require all developers to install stormwater management devices. In response to NAHB comments, EPA tabled the rule in 2014 that would have required additional “post-construction” controls for stormwater discharges. That rule would have required all builders to retain a certain volume of stormwater onsite, regardless of underlying soils or rainfall patterns. EPA’s existing rules simply require regulated cities to address post-construction flows to the “maximum extent practicable.” Since 2014, the shelved rule has sat on the agency’s “long-term action” list – not a priority, but eligible to be revisited at a future date. On July 27, EPA, along with all other federal agencies, published an updated rulemaking agenda for 2017. EPA announced that it has officially withdrawn its would-be national post-construction rule.
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