HomeMy WebLinkAboutWORKSHOP re Energy Efficient Stock Plans - SLIDES
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Energy Efficient Stock Plans
Grant Closeout & Program Status
Workshop for the Board of County Commissioners
Jeremy Williammee, Community Development Director
August 24, 2026
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PROGRAM BACKGROUND
Origin, Grant Objectives, and Approved Timeline
2022
Board directs a broader stock plan program with the City of Port Townsend
$253,000
WA Commerce pass-through grant awarded April 2024 ($228K engineering / $25K admin)
Aug 2024 – June 2026*
* Original end date December 2025, extension granted.
Purpose: Engineer eight selected plans to the 2021 State Building Code, meet or exceed State Energy Code, and enable low-cost, self-help construction.
APPROVED SCOPE OF WORK, TIMEFRAMES ARE MONTHS AFTER AWARD
Task A
Outreach to Selected Firms
Months 2–5 (+3 if new plans needed)
Stock Plan Committee, supported by the Chief Strategy Officer, reviews Board-approved plans; reopens a call for proposals only if new plans are needed.
Task B
Engineering of Plans
Months 2–8 existing / 8–15 new
Secure engineering for the selected stock plans to meet or exceed Washington State Energy Code requirements.
Task C
Publicize Availability
Months 12–15
Promote the plans to low-income households through local media, churches, and housing providers; identify self-help program partners.
Task D
Deliverables
June 30, 2026
Fully Engineered plan sets, a list of qualified engineers, a list of interested building firms, and a published distribution plan.
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PROGRAM RESULTS
What the Program Achieved
✓
Plan selection
34 submissions; eight single-unit plans approved. These designs remain available on the Jefferson County website.
✓
Public outreach
Website posting, newspaper article, and outreach to churches, housing providers, and engagement with the Climate Action Committee.
✓
Some grant deliverables met
The plan-selection and public-outreach requirements of the grant were both fully met.
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PROGRAM RESULTS, PART 2 OF 2
Where the Program Fell Short
✕
Engineering
Staff reconvened the Stock Plan Committee and offered to fund engineering for all eight firms through the grant. No design firm agreed to complete the engineering work, even with funding
offered.
✕
Third-Party Hosting
Copyright, audit, and insurance concerns made direct public purchase of plans impractical. An RFP for a third-party clearinghouse drew no participants at its pre-proposal session and
closed July 30, 2025 with zero proposals.
✕
Direct Agreements
Staff re-engaged design firms with direct Professional Services Agreements to pay for engineering costs. Standard County insurance and contracting clauses, and unresolved plan ownership
questions, proved unacceptable to the firms.
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PROGRAM EXECUTION
Options Explored During the Grant
Staff pursued multiple approaches in the attempt secure engineering and plan hosting.
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Direct engineering, grant-funded
Offered to all eight design firms. No firm agreed to complete the work.
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2
Third-party clearinghouse RFP
Sought a consultant to host and administer the plan library. Zero proposals; closed July 30, 2025.
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3
Direct Professional Services Agreements
Re-engaged firms to pay for engineering directly. Insurance and ownership terms proved challenging.
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4
Prescriptive build approval letter
Developed as an alternative to formal engineering review. No firms proceeded.
*Because engineering was the bulk of the intended budget and could not be secured, the grant closed only partially completed.
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ADDITIONAL CONSTRAINT
Staffing and Leadership Turnover
Turnover in Department of Community Development leadership during the program period.
Departure of the County's Building Official.
Departure of the Chief Strategy Officer, who had originally designed the program, secured the grant, and led its administration.
These changes reduced capacity for program management alongside DCD’s core land use, permitting, building, and fire marshal workload.
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40% Department staff reduction due to budget constraints and unplanned departures.
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SUPPORTING DATA
Jefferson County Residential Permit Activity
New single-family, ADU, and manufactured home permits, 2023 – 2026 YTD
READING THE DATA
• ADU permitting remains below 10 units annually.
• Manufactured homes meaningful share of new residential permitting.
• ADUs represent a small share of residential permit activity.
Source: Year-Over-Year Permit Data from Enterprise Permitting and Licensing (EPL) System. Data run, August 19, 2026.
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REGIONAL CONTEXT
Established Regional Programs Show Modest Uptake
POULSBO / KITSAP REGIONAL COORDINATING COUNCIL
Countywide ADU plan program across five Kitsap jurisdictions.
Four free plan sets launched June 2025; two more added.
Cost shared across multiple jurisdictions.
Program too recent for meaningful published utilization data.
PORT ANGELES PERMIT-READY PLANS
City-run pattern book, funded by a Commerce housing grant; five plan sets free since Nov. 2023.
Estimated 5–20% construction-cost savings, 1–2 weeks faster review, plus fee waivers.
8 permit-ready plans in 2025, compared with 53 total dwelling-unit permits.
Future additions to plan library must be donated to City.
Sources: Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council; City of Poulsbo; City of Port Angeles (2026)
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FOR CONTEXT: THE CITY'S PARALLEL PROCESS
City of Port Townsend's Path Forward
Options City staff presented to Council on August 17, 2026, under Comprehensive Plan Action 6.05.
CITY STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Postpone implementation (Option 5), paired with regional coordination.
Monitor federal, state, regional, and philanthropic funding, and coordinate with Jefferson County DCD on a shared catalog if capacity allows.
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DCD RECOMMENDATION
Pause active County-led implementation of the Stock Plan program.
Given current DCD capacity, demonstrated demand, and competing priorities, continued County-led implementation is not recommended.
Design sets stay published on the County website with designer contact information, so residents and builders can pursue engineering and licensing directly with the originating firm.
Interested designers, builders, and community organizations have the option to register plans through the County's Repetitive Use Build Program.
DCD will monitor regional, state, and federal funding opportunities and report back to the Board as viable options emerge.
Fiscal impact: $0 appropriation requested. ~$8,000–$9,000 in staff time reimbursement in discussion with Commerce. No consultants were engaged.
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Recent Comprehensive Plan and development code changes provide new tools for middle housing, manufactured housing, planned rural residential developments (PRRDs), and sewer-supported
development in UGA.
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