Remove Barriers That Hike Home Costs

Orange County’s business executives may be bullish, as revealed in UC Irvine’s executive survey, but all is not rosy. As we pointed out in your story Feb. 20 (“Bright Future Envisioned for O.C.”), concern over high housing and building costs could cause 28% of the survey respondents to leave Orange County.

Certainly, supply and demand are major factors in real estate costs. Orange County is a beautiful place to live, work and play, so it attracts new companies.

Unfortunately, local governments don’t often respond quickly enough when reviewing the new houses our new workers will need. If this situation continues, we could soon be in the same dilemma as the Silicon Valley, where high housing costs and dramatic housing shortages already are hurting that region’s economy.

There are three things Orange County needs to do to meet this challenge.

First, business and government need to work together to remove the regulatory and legal barriers that are artificially driving up home costs. This broad coalition has worked before to create our current success and overcome the county’s bankruptcy, and it needs to convene again to deal with this new economic threat on the horizon.

We cannot bring home costs down unless solutions to school financing are achieved. Currently, school fees add nearly $20,000 to the price of a new home in Orange County. The Building Industry Assn. strongly supports the construction of new schools. However, there needs to be a broader base for financing the schools so it is not just the new homeowners that are bearing the burden and costs. We encourage reducing these school construction costs through a comprehensive school facilities financing package under consideration in Sacramento.

Finally, Orange County housing costs cannot come down without an end to frivolous lawsuits over construction disputes, which are putting our builders, framers, dry-wallers and roofers in a situation of either not finding insurance or finding only excessive insurance premiums. Frivolous lawsuits would be curtailed if construction disputes could be arbitrated by homeowners associations and builders early in the process.

As our county emerges from a long recession and is transforming to a high-tech information community, let’s be sure we’re prepared by providing solutions to high housing costs. Otherwise, our now-vibrant economy will be cooled down.

CHRISTINE DIEMER

Executive Director, Orange County Building Industry Assn.

Irvine