Gov. Jay Inslee announced April 24 some “low-risk” construction can resume, one month after the governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order had banned most residential and commercial construction to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Inslee faced mounting pressure from trade organizations, lobbyists and local governments ,including Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend, to reopen construction.
While local governments are happy construction can restart, some questions about safety and liability have not been answered.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, $1 million spent on residential remodeling equates to $841,000 in local income, $71,000 in local government revenue and 11.5 local jobs.
From the closed lumber yards to furloughed local workers and decreased revenue through permitting and recording fees to the city and county, construction is one industry where the effects of an all-out halt have already been felt.
Linda Paralez, acting interim director of the Jefferson County Department of Community Development, said revenue to the county has decreased dramatically, and they are looking at myriad ways to recoup the losses.
Liz Coker, Director of the Jefferson County Home Builders Association, estimated 85% of construction and contract workers in Jefferson County were furloughed or laid off during the stay-at-home order.
According to the Washington State Employment Security Department, between March 8 and April 18, 241 workers in Jefferson County who work in construction or engineering had filed for unemployment.
City of Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval wrote in a letter to Inslee April 23, the day before he announced residential construction could resume, that halted construction and the COVID-19 pandemic was exacerbating the county and state’s affordable-housing crisis.
“I hope that you’ll act to bring the residential construction sector back online as soon as possible,” she wrote. “I believe we can start sensibly putting people back to work building needed housing, local economies and more resilient communities.”
The next day Inslee released a plan to allow “low-risk” construction to resume. Low risk is defined as work that can maintain 6 feet of distance between workers. Paralez said this means pretty much all projects in Jefferson County, either public works or residential and commercial construction, can resume.
Contractors also must adhere to a list of requirements including providing personal protective equipment (PPE) for their employees, having a COVID-19 site supervisor, taking employees’ temperatures when they arrive at work and providing hand-wash stations and disinfectants.
Paralez said some questions about how to proceed have been left unanswered.
The county is still looking for clarification on required inspection timelines when they expect pent-up demand to bog down their already lean office. They also don’t know if they can begin issuing new permits or if this order only applies to construction that is “shovel ready.”
Paralez said she believes new permits might need to wait until testing can be increased and contract tracing begun.
One problem is the county cannot be responsible for policing job sites, Paralez said. Under the governor’s newest proclamation, the state Labor and Industries Division is responsible for ensuring job sites adhere to the requirements.
Paralez said all the county can do is not inspect sites that are in non-compliance. For example, if a county inspector shows up to a job site where the employees are not wearing PPE, the inspector will not conduct an inspection and the contractor will have to reapply once they have met the requirements.
Paralez said she believes Jefferson County contractors will take the safety measures seriously, and they expect most, if not all, job sites will adhere to the requirements.
“We are all a little trepidatious that this doesn’t cause a spike [in cases],” she said.
On the other side of the coin, she said, restarting construction is a crucial part of the local economy, and her office does not want to be a barrier.
