Several changes are poised to shake things up for La Plata County’s building industry this year, including updates to building codes and potential taxes on new development.

Last month, the county building department rolled out plans to upgrade its codes this year from 2003 international building code standards to 2015 standards. The changes will have the biggest impact on energy efficiency standards. Upgrading current standards to the proposed 2009 energy codes would increase energy efficiency in a home by 15 percent.

For many local builders, the changes are long overdue.

“They’ve put this off for so long, it’s shameful,” said Greg Mantell-Hecathorn of Mantell-Hecathorn Builders. “People have no idea what they’re getting. They just see a nice-looking house. For example, when you see icicles coming off the roofs – that’s poor construction, poor insulation, and the county and city are responsible. A well-insulated roof would just have blankets of snow. It’s a visual example of failure to upgrade codes to create a better-quality home.”

Mantell-Hecathorn said the added cost to build to current standards is comparatively negligible in a place like Durango, where there is already a premium for higher quality construction.

But it will be difficult for some builders to make the leap and transition from a code nearly 15 years old.

Charlie Minkler, owner of Stone Peak Construction, expects there will be an adjustment phase in which small print in the new regulations will present unanticipated consequences. And the timing is bad, he said, because building material costs have seen a 10 to 20 percent increase in the past two years.

“Whenever we have a new code or more regulation, it’s always going to take people out of the market,” Minkler said. “There are always people just on the verge of being able to afford building here. And it makes it difficult for the affordable or attainable housing market.”

The county is drafting a comprehensive plan – an advisory document to guide land-use – and a component of the plan is focused on removing barriers to affordable and attainable housing. Minkler said such development is difficult to encourage as fees and construction costs climb.

The county and city of Durango also are working this year on an impact fee structure for new development that would raise $24 million over 20 years for the Durango Fire Protection District. The proposed fee would cost $1,183 per new home and $1.72 per square foot on commercial and other non-residential development.

Three Springs and Edgemont Ranch have had similar fees for years, which has not stymied growth in either of those areas, yet some builders said real estate should not be a target revenue source for local government.

“Any type of tax always impacts the construction industry,” said Troy Niswender, general manager at Builders FirstSource. “And it affects the home buyer, also.”

County officials are weighing whether to float a use tax initiative to voters on the November ballot, which could apply to motor vehicle sales and/or building materials.

Some building companies contacted in San Miguel County, which has a use tax built into its building permit fees, said it’s incumbent upon builders to make sure suppliers tax them the appropriate amount, and they would like the local government to conduct audits.

“It’s made employee housing virtually impossible to build,” said Werner Catsman, president of Finbro Construction in Telluride. “Here, the only employee projects built are town projects.”

It is unlikely the measure will pass in La Plata County. Voters have overwhelmingly opposed such a tax three times in the past 35 years.

If a use tax did pass, Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of the Economic Development Alliance, said the impact would likely be minimal for local developers.

“I’ve met with members of the Home Builders Association (of Southwest Colorado), and they estimate 40 to 50 percent of the cost of building residential housing is spent on building materials, and about 90 percent of that is already purchased in the county,” he said. “Would it impact the cost of larger, commercial projects, where material is bought outside the county, like hotels? Yes. On the other hand, maybe they would work with local vendors more.”

jpace@durangoherald.com