In this episode, MBI's Government Affairs Director Jon Hannah-Spacagna shares breaking news about the adoption of new modular-friendly building standards in Salt Lake City. He also speaks about how this news could affect other cities and states around the country. Lastly, Jon provides an update on other government affairs initiatives and previews his panel presentation at the upcoming 2021 World of Modular.
In this episode, MBI's Government Affairs Director Jon Hannah-Spacagna shares breaking news about the adoption of new modular-friendly building standards in Salt Lake City. He also speaks about how this news could affect other cities and states around the country. Lastly, Jon provides an update on other government affairs initiatives and previews his panel presentation at the upcoming 2021 World of Modular.
Hello, and welcome to Inside Modular, the podcast of commercial modular construction, brought to you by the Modular Building Institute. Welcome everyone. My name is John McMullen, and I'm the Marketing Director here at MBI. Today, I'm joined again by Jon Hannah-Spacgna, MBI's is Government Affairs Director. He's here to share some breaking news out of Salt Lake City, and to help us all understand what it could mean for the modular industry around the country. Welcome back, Jon. What can you tell me about what happened in Salt Lake City last night?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Well, it was a historic moment for us as a modular industry. Just a quick backstory. A few months ago, I was approached by some of our members who were working on a large project in Salt Lake City, and had run into some barriers there because Salt Lake City did not have a modular program for anything that was built outside of the city limits. So I started working with the building official, there orien Golf, and we were able to present them with a working document that is soon to become an anti standard of how to adopt a modular program for a city or state that doesn't have one. And so last night at 953, Eastern Standard Time, this city council voted unanimously to adopt our proposal, and to be implemented immediately, which not only will benefit this project, but others in the future in the city. So we're very thankful for their partnership. And very grateful that now our industry has a huge city of over a million people that we now have access to.
John McMullen:That's fantastic. That's fantastic. And thanks for the for the late night. I know you had to stay up on that call the adoption of these standards, does that pave the way for just a particular type of modular construction, or is everything on the table now?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Yeah, everything's on the table now. You know, it's it's modular, whether it's relocatable, whether it's permanent, it really opens up the whole door for our industry now in Salt Lake City, which is just fantastic.
John McMullen:So tell me more about MBI and its partnership with the ICC. I know they were integral in forming the standards. How long have these standards been in the works? And more importantly, why do they matter?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:So our executive director, Tom Hardiman, has been part of a working committee now for probably about a year in working on this standard. So this, this, this committee is put together by people in the industry that work with ICC to make sure that they get the standard, right. And so it's now in the final phases, it just finished the second public comment period. But what these standards do specifically for our industry, is allows us to open up markets like Salt Lake City, that don't have a program and aren't sure how to go about adopting one. So this really gives them a plug and play guideline, you know, in soon to be standard, that they can say, Hey, we want to start a modular program. Here's the nuts and bolts of how you do that. Do that. And so it really is something that we hope to take and replicate throughout the country, just like Salt Lake City has practically already done.
John McMullen:nice. And for those who may not be as familiar with the ICC, or the International Code Council, who are they exactly? And how does their work impact the modular construction industry.
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:So they set the building codes for everyone, you know, internationally, and then it's up to the states and cities to adopt them as they see fit. So they could they're put out every three years. But it's up to the states and cities to adopt what they feel is comfortable and amendments, things that may be specific to their area, whether it's for seismic issues or snow weight, things like that. But essentially, it gives them a guideline to adopt, so that all the buildings that are built are built to those codes. And so for modular specific were built to the code just like any other building would be, whether it's modular or regular construction, and it allows us to have a guide so that our folks that are building all over the country in a way to know what they need to build two as far as following the standard guidelines.
John McMullen:Very good. So so let's turn back to Salt Lake City for a moment. Now that the city council has agreed to adopt these modular-friendly standards. What's next?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:So we're working with salt lake city right now, we're planning to do a town hall with their building official orien Golf to help our members understand as they implement this process, as we have many members that are anxious to get into Salt Lake City. And Salt Lake City has a great need for new construction, whether it's for affordable housing or other needs. It allows more members to get in touch with them and understand the process. But also this will allow us to take this model that has yet to be published, which is somewhat unprecedented and go to other cities that are in the same need and say, 'Look, here's what was done in Salt Lake City, here's a path for you to implement your own program, which is going to open up just numerous opportunities for our industry to continue to grow and have a guideline and a standard to work from.'
John McMullen:Gotcha. So the really the big takeaway for for other cities, it sounds like now there's a plan. Now, there's a model that I can work from, if I'm a city and I don't have a modular program. Now there's one to look to is that
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Exactly. And for a city the size of Salt Lake City to do this proactively before this, the standards been published, speaks volumes to the work of like I said, organ golf in the city council to be proactive in seeing the vision and the opportunity with modular construction, and be willing to adopt these guidelines before they're even published.
John McMullen:Very nice. So I'm, not only are we excited by this news, but there's there's really a whole lot going on in the world of government affairs, including a town hall that you're hosting tomorrow. In fact, what can you tell me about that?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Yeah, so we're hosting a town hall tomorrow with our Washington, DC lobbyists. And that's Max Perkins and Justin Lewis. And so we'll be talking about all things that's going on at the federal level, you know, we now have a new Congress, we have a new leader in the White House, we also have new cabinet members that are ever seen things like Department of Labor, you know, overseeing FEMA, overseeing HUD. So all these areas directly impact our industry. And even though we've already built relationships with folks that are still in those areas, but with the new Congress and the White House, in their agendas, there could be things that roll out that impact our industry, both on a positive level, but also things we may need to work hard to defeat or to curb their impact on our industry to allow us to continue to grow. So there'll be given us a full perspective of, you know, what, of what have we seen so far? And what to expect in 2021?
John McMullen:Very good. And for those who can't join tomorrow's Town Hall, you're also presenting at the upcoming World of Modular, what will that presentation cover?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Yeah. So we have our DC lobbyist will be part of that panel, along with myself, and then our New York lobbyist, as well as our California lobbyists. So we'll be giving a perspective in each of those areas of things we're working on, we'll have a better idea of bills that will be coming out as California's last day to submit bills as this Friday. So we'll be able to give an update on things we're working on in those specific areas, but also things outside of that, that we're working on, that are more specific to certain states or cities that we're having conversations with, that are opening their doors to the modular industry.
John McMullen:And you mentioned a town hall about Salt Lake City that that will be occurring a little bit later this year. What else have you got going on?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Well, you know, this has already been a busy year for us, you know, which is somewhat, I think, a benefit of last year, that we really build a strong foundation and, and took the opportunity we had, you know, through the unfortunate things of the pandemic, but it really brought to light the advantages that we could do in modular. And so we've been able to take that and grow that already this year, with opportunities we've had, you know, in Canada with a billion dollars being given to the modular industry for affordable housing, you know, in taking those wins that we've had, and now grow them in 2021, with conversations with cities like San Jose, with the state of California with New York City. So we're building on those conversations, but we're also seeing things that we're having to defend our industry on, you know, with bills that have already come out in New York, that would be very derogatory to our industry requiring prevailing wage union labor contracts, similar things in California, and then also at the federal level with the proact, which could impact our industry greatly. So even though we're having to play a little more defense this year than we have in the past, we're also continuing to push things forward and open up new markets like we did with Salt Lake City.
John McMullen:Very nice. Very nice. Well, john, I appreciate your time. One last thing, if anyone has any questions about government affairs, Salt Lake City, or any of the initiatives that MBI is working on, how should they get in touch?
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Yeah, just email me at john jon@modular.org. And be glad to answer any questions. And also I'll say if, if they start to see things out there that may be going sideways on a project or a state or a city. The sooner I can get involved, the more I can have a quicker impact. The Salt Lake City issue we got involved a year after it started. And within a few months, we're able to have success. So if you see something out there and you need our help, just let us know and we're here for you.
John McMullen:Very good. And as always, we'll keep our events page on modular.org updated with townhall. All information. So invite people to keep their eyes on that page. And sounds like it's gonna be a busy year. I'm looking forward to it.
Jon Hannah-Spacagna:Yeah, absolutely. And last thing I'll say if, if, if you're a member of MBI, and you're not participating in our Seals program, the purchase of those Seals is what allows us to have lobbyists like we have in New York, California, DC, in areas that may come up that we're not expecting yet. So I encourage you to support our Seals program. It's on our website, on our member page. I encourage you to do that. And also, if you haven't signed up yet for World of Modular, March 8th through 12th, now's a great time to do that as well.
John McMullen:Looking forward to that as well. Thanks again, Jon. I appreciate your time. Thank you, Jon. My name is John McMullen and this has been another episode of Inside Modular, the podcast of commercial modular construction. Until next time.