Sarpy to hold builders accountable

Nebraska's fastest-growing county aims to gain tighter control over new housing developments by holding builders there more accountable.

Sarpy County Planning Director Rebecca Horner wants the county to license general building contractors involved in residential projects, including significant remodeling. Her proposal, discussed at last week's County Board meeting and expected to come up again in the next few weeks, would cover projects that cost $10,000 or more, she said. Horner hopes the County Board adopts the regulations.

Under the new licensing proposal, anyone building a single- or multifamily dwelling in Sarpy County would have to show the county that he or she has passed a basic skills test for contractors.

Proponents say the proposal should ensure that general contractors doing business in Sarpy County have knowledge of technical terms and an understanding of the general principles of business management and state laws. The regulations also would affect people building their own homes, Horner said.

“If I wanted to (build) my own house, I would have to take this exam,” she said.

The two-hour, open-book test can be taken in Omaha, Horner said, at a cost of about $100. Each licensed contractor also would pay a $25 registration fee to the county. That money would reimburse Sarpy for costs to administer the new regulations and help it keep tabs on contractors.

Contractors would need to obtain a $10,000 bond to protect the county against loss or damage, plus a certificate of insurance covering at least $300,000.

“It is not a revenue generator,” Horner told the board last week. “It's a safety generator.”

Horner said the push to regulate residential contractors is not unique to Sarpy County. Omaha is contemplating the adoption of similar rules, Horner said.

This month, a bill was reintroduced in the Nebraska Legislature to require licensing of residential general contractors.

Last year, the City of Bellevue adopted similar licensing for residential structures that includes bonding and insurance. Bellevue requires annual fees from $50 to $500 per year, Horner said.

Plans to regulate general contractors in Sarpy County follow a handful of structure failures in metropolitan Omaha and western Iowa that Horner described as “significant.” Builders, including the Metropolitan Omaha Builders Association, pushed for the regulatory effort, she said.

Last April, a family near Glenwood, Iowa, filed a lawsuit asking their builder, developer and seller to buy back their $329,000 house in the Loess Hills. Federal authorities determined that the four-year-old home in Park Place Acres was unsafe to occupy.

Problems at the house traced to rain draining from the subdivision into the backyard, which sits at the bottom of a steep slope in part of western Iowa known for its bluffs and soft ground.

That lawsuit, which also names Mills County as a defendant, is pending.

Sarpy County Board member Pat Thomas questioned whether a new set of restrictions is needed. He called it “another layer of bureaucracy” that keeps people from doing what they want.

Horner's proposal would punish smaller contractors and people who want to build their own homes, he said, calling it unsurprising that several of Omaha's largest contractors would support additional restrictions.

“The building community is people with lots of money,” Thomas said. “They don't want you or I to build our own house.”

Sarpy County Board member Rusty Hike said he favors regulating contractors. However, he questions whether the county needs to require existing homeowners to obtain proper licensing if they want to do a significant remodeling job or build their own homes within Sarpy County.

“I think that contractors should be held to a higher standard,” Hike said. “I am not sure we need something to apply to a homeowner.”

Contact the writer:

444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com

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