Greenville Fire Department Recieves Highest Rating

The Insurance Services Office (ISO), and organization that rates communities on fire protection effectiveness, officially announced the City of Greenville’s receipt of a Public Protection Classification of 1.  The announcement was made at the August 28 City Council meeting.

ISO evaluates municipal fire protection efforts in communities throughout the United States through its Public Protection Classification (PPC) program and assigns a PPC from 1 to 10. Class 1 is the highest rating and represents superior property fire protection. Consequently, fire insurance premiums for communities with better public protection are significantly lower than those areas served by departments with higher ratings. According to ISO data, out of an estimated 46,042 fire protection areas in the United States, only 241 are currently classified as Class 1. There are 21 Class 1 departments in South Carolina, including Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach.

According to Fire Chief Steve Kovalcik, the Greenville City Fire Department has worked diligently over the past few decades to improve its response capabilities through ISO classification. “This prestigious designation as a Class 1 department marks the culmination of that hard work, as well as the beginning of a process of excellence,” said Kovalcik. “In addition to being proud of this accomplishment, we’re also extremely gratified that our citizens can be assured that they’re receiving the highest quality protection and that home and business owners may also see a decrease in the cost of their fire insurance.”

According to the ISO, a community’s PPC depends on:

• Emergency communications systems, including facilities for the public to report fires, staffing, training, certification of telecommunicators and facilities for dispatching fire departments
• The fire department, including equipment, staffing, training and geographic deployment of fire companies
• The water supply system, including the inspection and flow testing of hydrants and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water, compared with the amount needed to suppress fires
• Community efforts to reduce the risk of fire, including fire prevention codes and enforcement, public fire safety education and fire investigation programs

The Greenville City Fire Department (GCFD) has had a Class 2 ISO rating for more than 15 years, and Chief Kovalcik attributes the change to a number of key initiatives, including the location and construction of the new fire station in the Verdae area; the creation of an additional engine company with additional firefighters; the addition of several new positions, including a Community Risk Reduction Coordinator; and GCFD’s cooperation with other agencies in Greenville County.

“On this special day, I want to take the opportunity to recognize and thank the men and women of the Greenville City Fire Department, and to express my appreciation to our elected officials, the city manager, our City leadership team and all the other City departments for their support and commitment to the sustainment of our fire prevention services and fire suppression resources,” said Kovalcik. “While we’ve become accustomed to being on national ‘best of’ lists here in Greenville, joining the ranks of the Class 1 fire departments in the U.S. is something we should all be proud of.”

Inclusionary Zoning: why it does not work

This week the South Carolina Senate held a public hearing before a Judiciary subcommittee to consider legislation to allow South Carolina cities and counties to impose Inclusionary Zoning on home builders and developers.  Inclusionary Zoning is a regulation where government mandates that private home builders and developers sell or rent some homes at below-market prices without any financial participation from government.

Your Home Builders Association opposes Inclusionary Zoning because it does not work.  In fact, it makes the affordable housing problem worse.  We described the problem in a letter to Greenville Mayor Knox White.  The Greenville City Council adopted a resolution in support of the Inclusionary Zoning legislation and actively lobbied for its passage.  We also shared the letter with the rest of City Council, Greenville County Council, and the legislative delegations from Greenville, Pickens, and Laurens counties.  You can read the letter below.  Click here to read our policy paper on Inclusionary Zoning.

April 17, 2017

The Honorable Knox White, Mayor
City of Greenville
206 South Main Street
Greenville, SC 29601

Via Email: kwhite@greenvillesc.gov

Dear Mayor White,

I would like to provide you with some additional research and information on inclusionary zoning and why, in almost all cases, this regulation worsens the affordable housing problem in the communities where it has been implemented.

Attached is our policy paper on the subject. In addition, I have outlined below why an inclusionary zoning regulation would contribute to the affordable housing problem in Greenville, rather than improve it.

Scenario 1
Assume that an inclusionary zoning ordinance in the City of Greenville will require 10 percent of all housing units constructed to be below market prices. Assume also that 400 housing units are constructed in a year in the city (consistent with current activity and about 8 percent of the total new homes constructed in Greenville County). The result would be 40 new below-market housing units constructed in the city as a result of an inclusionary zoning ordinance.

However, we must assume that the developer will pass the lost profit on in the form of an increase in the prices of the remaining 90 percent of their development that is being sold at market-rate prices.

The average price of a newly-constructed single-family home in the Greater Greenville area is approximately $270,000. The average home builders' net margin is about 5 percent. That is their profit. Some are more profitable. Others are not. That is an average.

Therefore, the home builder will need to increase the prices of the remaining 90 percent of market-rate housing units by $15,000 each.

• $270,000 x 5% = $13,500 (average price times 5% net margin is the home builder's profit per housing unit priced at $270,000)
• $13,500 x 400 / 360 = $15,000 (average profit times total housing units produced, divided by market-rate housing units produced is the price increase on each market-rate housing unit)

According to the National Association of Home Builders' Priced Out Effect study (nahb.org/pricedout), a $1,000 increase in the cost of a new home in Greenville, South Carolina, prices out 520 households from purchasing a new home. Therefore, that $15,000 increase in the price of a new home, the result of an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance mandating that 10 percent of the project be sold at below-market prices, will price out 7,800 families from purchasing a new home as a result of the ordinance—PER YEAR.

The hypothetical ordinance would produce 40 below market housing units, but will cause an increase in the demand for below-market housing units by 7,800 households. And this only assumes that the net profit from the 10 percent of housing units that are below market is $0. If the city demands that the price be less than break even, which is likely, the priced-out effect is even worse.

Granted, I am applying the Priced Out data, which is a regional statistic, to the City of Greenville. However, I believe it fairly describes the cause and effect of an Inclusionary Zoning ordinance.

Scenario 2
The above example assumes that the ordinance regulates the end price of the house. However, some ordinances have regulated the end price of the lot. That method is even worse for affordability.

The lot cost is a combination of raw land cost plus development and infrastructure costs, as well as marketing, commissions, and carrying costs (debt), plus profit. Below is how the final lot price is often determined:

• Land cost of $15,000 per lot ($60,000 per acre divided by 4 units per acre)
• Infrastructure and development costs have risen dramatically and are now typically $25,000 per lot
• The result is a $40,000 lot in hard acquisition and development costs
• Therefore, a 30-lot subdivision would cost $1.2 million
• Add risk, carrying cost, overhead, desire for a profit, and the $1.2 million in hard costs is typically grossed up using a 1.5 multiplier. Therefore, the retail price of the lot will be $60,000 lot.
• The gross margin is $20,000 per lot from which comes business overhead (city license fees, office cost, employee salaries, insurance, utilities, transportation, etc.). That overhead number is about 10% of revenue, or $6,000.
• Then there are the additional costs like sales commissions, marketing expenses, and interest expense.
• The absolute best outcome for the developer is 10% net profit on the lot, but usually it is less.

If 3 of the lots in the 30-lot subdivision must be sold for $20,000 each in order to produce a house affordable to a buyer earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of median income, the lost $20,000 in cost (the lot cost is $40,000) and the lost mark up of 20,000 per lot, will be added back to the remaining 27 lots.

• Therefore, the developer’s lot cost for the market-rate homes is $44,444 ($1,200,000 / 27 lots)
• The retail price of the lot will be $66,666 ($44,444 x 1.5 = $66,666)
• A difference in cost of $6,666 per lot that will be paid by the market-rate buyers in the subdivision

Therefore, the developer will sell the remaining lots to builders at $66,666 rather than $60,000.

In any final product, the lot is typically 17 percent to 20 percent of the cost of the home. To keep it simple, assume the builder uses a 20 percent value for the lot. Therefore, the builder will build a house that is five times the price of the lot.

When the lot cost increases by $6,666, that means the $6,666 increase in the lot will magnify into a $33,330 increase in the final price of the house. This is how it looks on paper:

• $60,000 lot x 5 = $300,000 house price
• $66,666 lot x 5 = $333,330 house price

With this lot-price control method, the city will have priced out of homeownership 19,314 families in the Greenville area.

You will understand from this analysis why the Home Builders Association has concluded that inclusionary zoning does not work. It, like many other government regulations on the housing industry, such as zoning and rent control, often make us feel like we are doing something constructive when we are, in fact, making the problem worse.

The study by the National Association of Home Builders that we reference in our policy paper has been applied to the Greenville area in the attached graphic. It demonstrates that housing in our community is nearly $70,000 more expensive as a result of regulation. As a result, less than 10 percent of all housing units built today are sold for less than $200,000. Just 17 years ago, 90 percent of all housing units were sold for less than $200,000. Inflation alone does not explain that increase in housing prices.

Our recommendation is that the City of Greenville and Greenville County work with the industry that produces housing to develop a meaningful housing policy for our community that will actually meet housing demand for all of our community’s citizens.

Home Builders Association of Greenville, SC, Inc.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Dey
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer

Copy:
Greenville City Council
Greenville County Council
Legislative Delegations of Greenville, Pickens, and Laurens counties

City of Greenville Planning and Development Office Closed Friday

The City of Greenville Planning & Development office will be closed Friday, April 21, while the staff moves into their new location on the 6th floor of City Hall. The Planning & Development office will reopen on Monday, April 24.

City of Greenville Now Verifies ID When Requesting A Building Permit

During our most recent Builder Breakfast, members asked Chief Building Official Buddy Skinner of the City of Greenville if they check ID when issuing a building permit.  Skinner investigated and determined that they do not.  But as a result of our request, the city began immediately to check ID when issuing a building permit.  As a result, there should be less of a risk of an individual inappropriately using a builder's license to pull a building permit.

At the same meeting, Chief Building Official Ruthie Helms, City of Greer, stated that they check ID when issuing a building permit.

Building Codes Class Update

There is another building codes class being offered by the City of Greenville and the City of Greer that builders are encouraged to attend.

Buddy Skinner will host a workshop on the new codes on Thursday, July 21, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room at City Hall. He will review and highlight the important code changes and offer his enforcement interpretations.

You Are Invited to Guy Murphy's Retirement Drop-In

After being with the City of Greenville for over 16-years, Guy Murphy has decided to retire his position as electrical inspector. He has been a huge asset to the City’s Building Codes Department and will be truly missed. Please join the City of Greenville for his retirement drop-in on March 31 from 2-4 p.m. in the1st Floor Conference Room at City Hall.

City to Install First Flashing Yellow Arrow Signal

Many of our members drive a lot, and traffic safety is important. Driving is about to get a little safer and more efficient in Greenville with this announcement from the City of Greenville:

All drivers in Greenville will soon benefit from a new style of traffic signal designed to improve safety. The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) began using the new signal, commonly called a Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA), in Columbia, and since then, its use has spread across the state. Weather permitting, the first FYA in Greenville is scheduled to be installed on Wednesday, November 4 at the intersection of Laurens Road and Henderson Road. Because the FYA is a SCDOT adopted standard, going forward, all new left-turn signals installed on state roads in the city will be equipped with FYAs.

The FYA is part of a four-section signal head that includes:

• A steady red arrow, which means STOP. Drivers turning left must stop.
• A steady yellow arrow, which means the signal is getting ready to turn to red. Drivers turning left should stop if it is safe to do so.
• A flashing yellow arrow, which means left-turns are permitted. Drivers may turn left but must first yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians and then proceed with caution.
• A steady green arrow, which means left-turns are protected. Drivers may turn left. Conflicting traffic must stop.

According to Valerie Holmes, Assistant City Engineer - Traffic Engineering, the growing use of FYA left-turn signal heads is the result of a national study conducted for the Federal Highway Administration, which demonstrated that the new signals help to prevent crashes, move more traffic through an intersection and provide additional traffic management flexibility. The FYA left-turn signal heads are designed to make it easier for drivers to perceive when to make a left turn maneuver by providing a visual cue for what to do, and at what point. The study found that drivers made fewer mistakes with the new signals than with traditional left-turn arrow signals. In addition to being safer, they also found that the FYAs were more efficient, providing traffic engineers with more options to handle variable traffic volumes.

Flood Map Information Available from the City of Greenville

The City of Greenville participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which makes federally-backed flood insurance available for all eligible buildings whether they are in the floodplain or not.  Flood insurance covers direct losses caused by surface flooding, including a river flowing over its banks and local drainage problems.

The NFIP insures buildings, including mobile homes, with two types of coverage:

1. building coverage is for the walls, floor, insulation, furnace, and other items permanently attached to the structure.
2. Contents coverage can be purchased separately if the contents are in an insurable building.

The Flood Insurance Protection Act of 1973 and the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 made the purchase of flood insurance mandatory for federally-backed mortgages on buildings located in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA).  The SFHA is the base (100-year) floodplain mapped on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).

The City of Greenville's Environmental Engineering Bureau provides assistance concerning floodplain locations, elevations, site-specific flood and flood-related data, and historical flooding of neighborhoods.

You can view the City of Greenville's Special Flood Hazard Areas in your neighborhood online by clicking here.  This is an interactive website that shows parcels within the city with respect to the floodplain.  If you are looking for more site-specific information, you can complete a floodplain verification request by clicking here.

The Environmental Protection Bureau maintains copies of FEMA elevation certificates on all buildings constructed in the floodplain since 1991.  The elevation certificates are available in the Engineering Division, on the 8th floor of City Hall at 206 South Main Street.  For more information, call the Environmental Engineering Bureau at 864-467-4400.

City of Greenville receives $2.1 Million for Neighborhood Initiative Program

The Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP) is designed to stabilize property values and prevent future foreclosures for existing property owners in strategically targeted areas through the removal of blighted structures.

NIP will assist communities by acting as a catalyst to stimulate redevelopment and revitalization in areas suffering from blight and decline, stabilizing values and assisting in the the preservation of existing neighborhoods. NIP is a joint venture of the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority and the SC Housing Corp. (SCHC), a not-for-profit corporation. NIP is made possible by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

                               113 Mt Eustis ST

The Neighborhood Initiative Program aims to acquire and restore the property through grading and seeding.

Program Guidelines

The City of Greenville, along with seven partnering non-profit organizations, was awarded $2,146,767 in NIP funding. The seven partnering non-profit organizations will acquire properties containing vacant and blighted structures, demolish all structures on the property and restore the property through grading and seeding. Properties must be located in one of the City of Greenville's Special Emphasis Neighborhoods.  The maximum amount of funding allowed for each property is $35,000, including all acquisition, demolition and restoration costs.  Properties acquired through this program will be redeveloped for affordable and workforce housing opportunities.  All funds must be spent by June 30, 2017. 

For more information or if you are interested in selling your property, please contact Michael Williamson, Community Development Division, at 864-467-4570.

For more information on Project Activities and Budgets click here. 

Want to Serve on a Government Board or Commission?

There are 13 potential vacancies on four boards and commissions of the City of Greenville.  Interested?  Below are the opportunities:

• Airport Commission: 1 vacancy for a new term beginning April 1, 2015
• Planning Commission: 3 vacancies for new terms beginning April 1, 2015
• Arts in Public Places: 4 vacancies for new terms beginning May 1, 2015
• Design Review Board: 5 vacancies for new terms beginning August 1, 2015

To apply, click here to determine whether you are a city resident and to complete an application.  City Council will consider appointments in the coming months.

If you apply, please notify your HBA by emailing Michael Dey at EO@hbaofgreenville.com so we may have the opportunity to assist you with your appointment.

City of Greenville announces new inspectors, fee increase

The City of Greenville released the following statement this week regarding its staffing levels in Building Codes Administration, and a planned fee increase:

"Due to the unprecedented growth that the city of Greenville is experiencing, and the resulting increase in construction activity, the City of Greenville’s 2014-2015 budget included funding for three additional positions in the Building and Property Maintenance Division. The new positions included two inspectors and a plan routing technician, and were created as part of the City’s efforts to meet the increased demand for services and streamline the permitting and inspection processes. Additional plans include utilizing technology to increase inspectors’ productivity and time in the field, and expanding the current data management system to provide the public with real-time inspection results, online permitting and access to project plan review management. To that end, the City’s budget also included a 10 percent increase in fees for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, which will be effective January 1, 2015."

Buddy Skinner, Building Codes Administrator, also reports that the city will be moving to a new, web-based permitting system called Click2Gov during the first quarter of 2015.  With the new program, permit requests, inspection results and payment will be conducted online.

Buddy Skinner will be our guest speaker at the next Builder Breakfast, date to be determined but in late January or early February, to demonstrate the new system to builders.  Stay tuned for more information.

City of Greenville Infill Ordinance Receives Final Approval

Greenville City Council gave final approval to the much discussed Residential Infill Ordinance.  The ordinance is effective August 11, 2014.

The Infill Ordinance ordains the following:

• Garages, carports, and driveways: must be constructed to be in character with the surrounding street and neighborhood.  New subdivisions may establish their own character, but the character of existing developments is being protected.  Generally, garages that protrude in front of the house on a street that does not have "snout" garages will not be allowed.  In addition, parking areas and circular driveways in front of homes will not be allowed unless there is a compelling reason to do so, like the house is on a busy street for example, or neighboring houses have parking in the front yard.
• Stormwater: impervious surfaces on a single-family lot will be limited to 60 percent of the lot.  The portion of the lot covered by buildings was already limited to 40 percent of the lot.  The new ordinance limits additional impervious surfaces to another 20 percent, for a total of 60 percent.  The 60 percent threshold can be exceed, but the project will require stormwater mitigation specific to the individual lot.  Additional requirements also are imposed for "infill" subdivisions including a setback standard and character requirements for detention ponds.
• Tree protection and replacement: The requirement for a tree survey for single-family residential development has been deleted. Instead, inclusive of all required trees (street trees), one canopy tree will be required for each 3,000 square fee of lot area, or portion thereof, excluding the footprint of the building.  Credit will be given, two-for-one, for each existing canopy tree saved if it is 6 inches or larger.  Planted trees must be a minimum of 2-1/2 inch caliper and maybe planted anywhere on the lot except where otherwise required (street trees).
• The maximum height of a dwelling in R6 and R9 has been reduced to 35 feet measured to the centerline of the roof.  The maximum height remains 40 feet in all other districts.

 The objective of this ordinance is to preserve the character of existing neighborhoods, many of which are redeveloping, while not impacting the economic viability of infill activities.  "While the ordinance may limit consumer choice, it should succeed in insuring that infill activity remains an economically viable option for home buyers and home builders," Michael Dey, Executive Vice President of the Home Builders Association of Greenville, said.

Representing housing-related interests on the 17-member task force were:

• Thomas Croft, Architect
• John Edwards, Architect
• David Crigler, Realtor and HBA member
• Amanda Jones, Realtor and HBA member
• Michael Dey, HBA of Greenville
• Bruce Felton, Home Builder and HBA member
• Matt Ruth, Remodeler and HBA member
• Trey Cole, Remodeler and HBA member

The task force also included five representatives from neighborhood associations, three members of City Council, and a member of the Planning Commission.

To read the Residential Infill Development Ordinance, visit HBAofGreenville.com/public-policy-papers.php.

UPDATE: City of Greenville Residential Infill Standards

Planning Director Michael Kerski Speaks to HBA Members

The Planning Commission of the City of Greenville has recommended to City Council adoption of an ordinance imposing certain new requirements on residential infill construction.  The ordinance is the result of a months-long review of issues created by construction activity in the city as well as the city's ordinances that govern them.  The 15-member task force included four members from the Home Builders Association of Greenville.

On June 17 about 30 members of the Home Builders Association participated in a briefing on the new ordinance, as well as other ordinances and policies, in a General Membership meeting called "How to Successfully Remodel, Build, and Develop in the City of Greenville.

About the Infill Ordinance
The ordinance's purpose is to achieve neighborhood compatibility, maintain the harmony and character of existing neighborhoods, and guide residential infill development.  The ordinance has four key provisions:

1. Limit the construction of garages and driveways in the front yard of homes in existing neighborhoods.
2. Limit the visual impact of stormwater detention in existing neighborhoods.
3. When the combination of a house and other impervious surfaces exceed 60 percent of the total lot, impose additional stormwater management requirements for that project if it is not a part of a larger common plan.
4. Require a minimum planing of trees in R6 and R9 neighborhoods.

The ordinance still requires the approval of City Council.  Click here to view the Residential Infill Ordinance approved by the Planning Commission.
In addition to the infill ordinance, members learned more about the city's existing stormwater ordinance, zoning and subdivision ordinances, building code enforcement procedures, and the city's Community Development program.