Seattle & Northwest + Washington + Office | May 26, 2023

WA Building Code Council Postpones Onset of New Energy Regs

The Washington State Building Code Council voted to delay the effective date of code modifications that ban the use of natural gas in new commercial and residential buildings. The new effective date for all building codes is Oct. 29, 2023. Previously, the effective date was July 1.

The council directed staff to convene two Technical Advisory Groups to consider stakeholder proposals to modify sections in the commercial and residential energy codes.

The modifications, approved last year, require builders to install heat pumps in new buildings built after July 1. Puget Sound Business Journal reported that the council’s move to delay implementation came nearly three months after a coalition of businesses, homeowners, trade groups and union members filed suit in Thurston County Superior Court to block the new energy codes, arguing they hurt housing affordability.

Washington State is among the leaders in strict new energy codes, the Business Journal reported.

Connect

Inside The Story

Washington State Building Code Council

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

Order Reprints