Members: Planning Commissioners Arlene Alen & Matt Sircely

Report to the Board:  August 8, 2022 Staff Report

 What are stock plans?  They are pre-designed home plans that include the most requested features consumers seek in a new home. Such features include popular room dimensions and square footage, layouts of floor plans, room numbers and sought-after amenities. Expedited permitting ; lower cost.

For additional information contact: alovett@co.jefferson.wa.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jefferson County solicits residential housing plans prepared by licensed professionals

 The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) prioritized the development of preapproved plans commonly referred to as stock plans to reduce residential housing construction costs and shorten permitting times. To support this priority, the Jefferson County Planning Commission voted to establish a Stock Plan Subcommittee to assist the Department of Community Development (DCD) in selecting designs that accommodate community needs.

 Our three-step approach to the development of stock plans envisions that you - submitters, licensed design professionals, will provide plans as a first step by the May 15, 2023 deadline.  These could be plans already created by you for which you have the reproductive rights or newly created plans. As step two, a joint city/county selection committee will review these plans in June, after posting them online for public comment from May 17 to May 31.  If there are no submittals, staff may consider posting plans prepared for other communities, as more fully set forth in the August 8, 2022 packet (https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/1645/Stock-Plan-Subcommittee) – this, however, is an opportunity for locally designed plans. The goal here is two-fold: it implements the BoCC’sdocu August 8, 2022 request that there be defined interest prior to allocating funding for plan review; it will also assist the reviewers to understand your concerns and interests.   Step three involves plan review using the soon to be adopted international codes.  BoCC Chair, Greg Brotherton urges design professionals to participate, citing the need and local experience. “This is a real opportunity to develop local housing designs that make housing and indeed home ownership more accessible to our working population. I see this work as raising the floor on our social contract and hope that we can produce low-cost house plans that are informed by local experiences and values and create accessible designs that are practical and livable.”

 What type of plans should be submitted? 

 DCD requests universal designs to accommodate those community members who are 8 years of age or younger, 80 or older and persons with disabilities largely because single family housing is not required to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) accessibility requirements.  DCD also requests easier to build and less costly designs out of recognition of the need for low- and moderate-income households to build their own homes by furnishing their own labor (sweat-equity. In partnership with the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County is eager for three types of plans that do not exceed the following square foot thresholds; 1) 1,250 for Jefferson County, 2) 800 square feet for the City of Port Townsend, 3) One plan set that exceeds 1,250 to accommodate a Boarding or Lodging house/structures in common ownership design or alternatively less than 500 square feet to reduce the overall project cost and scope. All submitters should be prepared to submit only a plan set at this step but also be willing to prepare engineered plans, and be available at an hourly rate for design professional support. 

  The target audience for these plans are three-fold:

• For community members who own land and others looking to purchase land but cannot currently afford the full costs of construction, design, and planning. 
• For those who might not be able to own a home without an opportunity to build it themselves.
• For persons with disabilities, who can rely upon a greater community of friends and families to contribute sweat equity to construct their home. 
   

Submitters should:

• Have all appropriate business licenses required by state and local governments
• Ensure designs meet 2021 IBC/IRC/WSEC and JCC
• All Architects, Designers, and licensed professionals shall have proof of Errors and Omissions Insurance
• Grant DCD the right to reproduce the plan set, and to list the preparer as an ongoing resource based on an hourly rate
• In the subject line, please include the words “stock plan”.

Designs are encouraged to include elements that improve the long-term benefits of their submittals.

• Consider more sustainable, durable products, materials, and design elements; e.g., Low Impact Design for stormwater such as water cistern incorporation and green roofs
• Consider modularized layouts
• Utilize the city’s “grow” homes concept, incremental building
• Universal Access Design for inclusive spaces: 36” to 42” doors, low threshold entry, roll-in shower, grab bar framing
• Consider ADU size limitations in Jefferson County 1,250 sq. ft. heated area
• Increased efficiencies in component thermal performance-improved floor, wall, window, and roof systems
• Firewise practices-eliminate roof venting through Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) system, non-flammable siding, soffit, roofing etc.
• Water conservation-rainwater cistern
• Others-please identify other approached utilized to achieve similar results

 The County Board of Commissioners and DCD are looking forward to robust qualified submittals and also encourages schools with design departments to take on this project as good outreach and practical experience for students.

 Submit to:    alovett@co.jefferson.wa.us

Submit by:   May 15, 2023

Questions about submittals should be directed to:  alovett@co.jefferson.wa.us