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.'i i i:1: 611511nation is more of a give-and-

1,:, , take industry than many might',,,: :lr' recognize, according to Gr-rlf

Coast Builders Exchange executive direc-

tor Jay Brady. Though rnany may assume

that the industry would like less govern-

n'rental interference, Brady says the right

type of government interaction could be

quite helpful by spurring the development

of affordable housing, keeping building

costs down and ensuring that zoning is

beneficial for all involved.

How does NlMBYism affect the con-

struction industry? r{/hen people work to

"close the door behind them," they restrict

housing supply and increase the price of

their little corner of the world. All that

accomplisl'res is an acceleration of urban

sprawl, a leapfrogging to rural areas more

removed from urban services, faster loss of

agricultural and environmental lands, lon-

ger commuting and more people becoming

NIMBYs. It's a vicious cycle. People voted

for the green lands referendum in Novem-

ber thinking that would help stop or slow

development. However, it-.^-,;- f...-* L-l^.-^lilJ) lil rJLr ilcrp ((JnCen-

t--t- i. --,t k.,..1^r: 'uarr rL. ailu r') !lcunltlon

thatt what NIMBYs most

object to.

What's the most reliable

way to get the industry

to build more affordable

housing? It's a combina-

tio",rf merrv rlrino'......_i. lll_

cluding building codes,

skilled labor and supply

i shorrage:. The anrwer itt,H not more regulation. Gov-z,j errrrnerrt leaders [e.rn'L]

solve a problem by throw-

ing a few dollars at it or adding more

regulations. Outdated zoning codes withlong permitting times and excessive fees

are also problems. Comprehensive zon-

ing reform is the only real solution in the

long run, but it will take other actions

like eliminating [federal] tariffs on the

importation of Mexican cement.

Should county government mandate

inclusionary zoning to create affordable

housing? Abrolutely nor. The counry

would not need to mandate anything ifour inadequate land use and zoning sys-

tem had not collided with higher con-

struction costs, tougher building codes

and skilled labor shortages. It's a per-

fect-storm situation. Since the advent

of zoning, it's never been purely up to

the developer or builder. 'We just r.reed

reasonable zoning with higher densi-

ties for these new times to offset these

other factors. Zontng is more than just

higher density; it's also setbacks, build-

ing height, open space and storm water

regulations and fees.

tltlt interviewed bv N chole L, Reber

Sarasota County is collecting affordable

housing funds. Will this pot of money

realize its purpose? It's probably the

most inefficient way to solve this prob-

lem. Yes, it will address it somewhat, but

there will never be enough money rhatcan even come close to solving it. There

are 41,000 cost-burdened households in

Sarasota County now and it is projected

by state housing experts to grow to about

47,000 in the next 10 years.

How do you foresee the price of build-

ing-material costs changing over the

next year, given the damages and needs

of rebuilding after Hurricanes Katrina,

Rita and Wilma? Prices will moderate

sornewhat if oil prices stay lower than $2

per gallon. However, when the rebuild-ing of the Gulf Coast really kicks in we

can expect materials prices to be pushed

back up. Eliminating tariffs on imported

cement would definitely help. \7hat we

really need is incentives and fewer disin-

centives to produce more cement in Flor-

ida and elsewhere in the United States.

What is the local building industry

doing to combat the lack of skilled la-

borers? The Construction Technology

Careers pre-apprenticeship programt

founded in 2001 through a partnership

of construction companies, Sarasota and

Manatee school districts and the Sun-

coesr Workforce Board. is growing every

year, and it's being well received by the

contractors who hire these kids. It's a

900-hour program, so by the time they

get hired they've had 450 hours by going

through the courses and taking safety

training, and they can deal with work-

ers' compensation issues on job sites at

16 years of age.

'-

L:"f'S ffif tr*ffi%Wffi'Xmfu$WR,,il-^-.^^t.^.-.^ t. Rr;dv on rhcuullusr )PUr\E)r t'at | )a/

pitfal ls of over-regu lation.

&*"?"

**F3

,!,

€-

%

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%

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paying more than they can

afford fe.r a home.

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"Earning $16.24 per hour looks

prettv good r,vhen you've been working

minimum \l'age," she says about a typi-

cal rate for workers who've trained

rvith CTC.

For more information about this

program go to www.constructiontech

nologycareers. org.

BRrcK/BLocKMAsoNs: $r4.29 per hour,

entry $11.5o

cARPENTERS: $t4.7t, entry $ro.z6CEMENT MASONS AND CONCRETE FINISHERS:

$8.23, entry $9.72

coNsrRucnoN MANAGERS: $rr.s g,

entry $r9.64

DRYWATL AND CEILING TILE INSTALLERS:

$g.zg, entry $11.18

ELEcrRrctANs: $t4.t7, entry $:o.82

TIRST-LINE CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISORS:

$zz.5o, entry $r5.42HVAC INSTALLERS AND MECHANICS:

$r5.27, entry $ro.95CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT OPERATORS:

$t.g+, entry $ro.54PAtNTERS: $r3.o9, entry $9.6oPLASTERERS AND STUCCO MASONS:

$ts.S+, entry $rz.3BPLUMBERS/PTPEFTTTERS: $rs.sg,

enLry $n.77RooFERs: $r3.9o, entry $rr.45sHEET METAL woRKERs: $ra.Br,

entry $ro.z8

STRUCTURAT IRON AND STEEL WORKERS:

$t6.zz, entry $ro.78METAL FABRICATORS AND FITTERS:

$n.72, entry $9.74wELDERS: $rl.4o, entry $ro.68

Source: Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation,Oct 2oo4, www.workforceflorida.com/wages

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