Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/370270
SEPTEMBER 2014 23 THE JOURNAL the 2000 reform law is not a "manufactured hous- ing industry law" as some would like to portray it, but rather an affordable housing law to empower the home- ownership prospects of lower and moderate-in- come American families Back to preemption, though, to accept Mr. Matchneer's argument now, would turn back the clock just as HUD has: (1) ruled in a Minnesota preemption matter that the absence of a specific federal standard does not prevent the preemption of a state regulation (in this instance a state energy regulation); (2) acknowledged in a recent rule- making that National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) data shows that HUD Code homes "have a similar fire safety record to that of one- and two-family dwelling units;" and (3) acknowledged in the same rulemaking that "there is [a] consid- erable cost impact to install a sprinkler system in a manufactured home for what would appear to be marginal benefits." All of these important steps, moreover -- for which MHARR and other pro- gram stakeholders are grateful – occurred under Mr. Matchneer's successors, after his departure from the program administrator position. Under the very same "broad and liberal" ap- proach to preemption as in the recent Minnesota case, HUD can and should rule that state and/or local sprinkler mandates are preempted by the cur- rent HUD "Fire Safety" standards – standards that the NFPA data proves have achieved reasonable fire safety for manufactured home residents with- out the added cost of sprinklers. And just to close the loop on all of Mr. Match- neer's "voluntary" sprinkler standard arguments, he is the last person to be criticizing anyone for warning about "voluntary" HUD standards be- coming non-voluntary, when his own "voluntary" expansion of in-plant regulation (implemented about the same time as his initial proposal for a "voluntary" federal sprinkler standard) turned out to be "non-voluntary" after all, leaving manufac- turers facing significant and costly new regulatory burdens that they have spent the last four years – and their hard-earned resources – trying to fix. Going back Mr. Matchneer's "second- chance," one would hope that having had time to reflect on his failure to fully and properly imple- ment all the reform provisions of the 2000 law during his tenure at HUD, he would take the op- portunity now to help all program stakeholders correct these matters. Judging by his preemption article, however, the results are not encouraging, as his article is more about validating the wrong track that he took at HUD instead of validating the strong and robust preemption required by the 2000 reform law. In MHARR's view, Mr. Matchneer, as the first and only appointed administrator of the HUD program, had an unequalled opportunity to fully and properly implement the 2000 reform law. Having failed to do so, he should use the "second chance" provided by his new role within the in- dustry to join forces with all program stakeholders to now – finally – fully and properly implement this crucial affordable housing law. Danny D. Ghorbani is President & CEO of the Manu- factured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform. MHARR is a Washington, DC-based national trade as- sociation representing the views and interests of inde- pendent producers of federally-regulated manufactured housing. Danny can be reached at 202-783-4087. Grandbridge Real Estate Capital provides the vital link between today's market conditions and capital solutions. As a national full-service leader in commercial and multifamily finance, we understand the importance of relationships. With a single point of contact, you can streamline the complexities of manufactured home community (MHC) lending while increasing your access to a wide range of sound capital sources. Learn more about our national scope of services, including Freddie Mac's new MHC loan product * , by visiting grandbridge.com. $7,500,000 Albuquerque, N.M. 430 Sites Refinance Agency $9,200,000 Largo, Fla. 348 Sites Refinance Insurance Co. $3,500,000 Edgewater, Fla. 195 Sites Refinance Agency $20,000,000 Tucson, Ariz. 579 Sites Refinance Agency $7,500,000 Bend, Ore. 177 Sites Refinance CMBS $11,302,000 Austin, Texas 358 Sites Acquisition Agency $18,900,000 San Diego, Calif. 269 Sites Refinance Agency $24,500,000 Rohnert Park, Calif. 300 Sites Refinance Agency Connecting ideas, capital and clients. M H C C O N N E C T I O N S R E A L I Z E D Loans are subject to credit approval. Equal Housing Lender. * Grandbridge is one of a select few established, MHC-experienced Program Plus ® Seller/Servicer lenders approved to participate in Freddie Mac's new MHC loan program. Let's connect. Chris Dyson cdyson@gbrecap.com 205.978.1843 Todd Elkins telkins@gbrecap.com 813.262.9950 John L. Segrest, CMB jsegrest@gbrecap.com 205.978.1842 grandbridge.com No. 15 on Get It Quick Page \ 14 T J Got News? Send your company press releases to: news@journalmfdhousing.com 706-655-2333