PORT ANGELES — The Building Industry Association of Washington has set its legislative priorities for the upcoming session, said Kevin Russell, a Port Angeles contractor and chair of the association’s Legislative Policy Committee.
Its priorities include subdivision modernization, lot splitting and other policies that help increase the density and diversity of housing types, and lobbying against using fee and tax increases to close the $10 billion to $12 billion four-year deficit the state is facing.
Overall, Russell said these priorities focus on housing attainability and affordability.
The Building Association of Washington (BIAW) is a home building association that fights for affordable homeownership and supports a strong workforce in the trades, according to its website.
“Let us provide everybody with affordable, attainable housing,” Russell said. “That’s our mantra.”
One pathway toward that goal is advocating for a change in how the Building Code Council (BCC) is set up, he said.
The BCC both advises the Legislature on building code issues and develops the building codes used in the state, according to the Municipal Research and Service Center of Washington.
The state’s energy code is exponentially more stringent than the federal government’s model code, Russell said.
“By doing that, that increases the cost of housing,” he said.
Currently, the 15 members on the BCC are appointed by the governor. Russell said most of the people on the council are not builders and do not have insider knowledge that could help them shape codes.
“We [the BIAW] would have more people sitting on that council that were actually in the trades,” he said.
The final priority the BIAW wants to advocate for is implementation of Initiative 2066, which passed in November with 51.7 percent of the statewide vote, according to the Washington State Standard.
The initiative primarily retains the ability for individuals to choose natural gas for heating and energy. However, since it passed, it has been embroiled in a legal battle and has not yet been implemented by the BCC.
“The voters of the state said this is what we want,” Russell said. “We’re hoping to get that resolved.”
In addition to serving on the Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) and as chair/president of the BIAW’s for-profit subsidiary, the Member Services Corporation, Russell also was inducted into the BIAW hall of fame in November.
“I attribute it to all the super people that I’ve worked with,” Russell said. “I accepted it on behalf of everybody that’s been part of my life in this building adventure.”
Russell served as BIAW president in 2018, helped launch the Built Green of Washington program in 2008 and led efforts to establish the Certified Builder Program in 2016. He was the North Peninsula Building Association’s president in 2007, 2008, 2015 and 2016.
In addition to the hall of fame induction, Russell earned the 2018 BIAW Builder of the Year award, the Log Home Chairman’s Award and multiple North Peninsula Home Builder’s Builder Appreciation Award.
Despite all his decorations, Russell’s life hasn’t been in the building industry. Originating in California, his first career was in surfing, then law enforcement, after which he went to corporate America before finally ending up in building.
“And then, in between corporate America and building, I managed an REI,” he added.
When he was younger, he said he worked in construction in California for a few years, including on some celebrity homes.
When he came to Port Angeles, he started or partnered with four companies, including Kevin Russell Construction — the only one he is still working with.
“I really liked seeing the joy in people’s faces when they get a new house or they get their house remodeled,” he said.
Russell is finishing up a few projects with Kevin Russell Construction and then he plans on retiring.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
