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April 23, 2020—Governor Roy Cooper this afternoon announced that that his “Stay-At-Home” Order would remain in place through Friday, May 8, 2020. This order specifically continues his prior Executive Order 121 and declares that it remains in effect though May 8. That order provided that “housing construction” is an essential business.

“We are pleased to see the Governor continue to recognize the essential nature of our industry and its contribution to the economic vitality of this state,” said Mike Carpenter, NCHBA’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “We applaud our members for following the appropriate safeguards on social distancing and jobsite sanitation and we will urge them to continue these practices.” For more information, here is a link to today’s Executive Order 135 and here is a link to Executive Order 121 which was issued on March 27, 2020.

Previous Statement From NCHBA

March 27, 2020—Late this afternoon, Governor Roy Cooper issued a “Stay-At-Home” Order for our citizens in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The North Carolina Home Builders Association (NCHBA) fully supports the Governor’s action and thanks him for including housing construction as an “essential business”’ in his executive order.

“Governor Cooper is to be commended for his positive actions to protect our citizens and our economy during this crisis,” said Outer Banks builder, Mark Martin, NCHBA’s 2020 President. “He understands the vital role that the residential construction industry plays in the success of the economy of our state. Furthermore, the Governor understands that our industry can keep people employed while honoring safe work and social distancing guidelines published by our public health officials.”

Nationally, housing accounts for more than 14% of the Gross Domestic Product and its contribution in North Carolina is similar. For every home built, three jobs are created.

“We need to continue to build homes so our citizens will have a place to shelter,” said Mike Carpenter, NCHBA Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “We have urged our members to strictly follow all the appropriate safeguards and we believe our members are doing so. A large majority, if not all, land development and residential construction job tasks fall under OSHA’s “Lower Exposure Risk jobs.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) guidance titled Guidance on Preparing Worksites for COVID-19 divides job tasks into different risk categories: very high, high, medium and lower risk. According to OSHA, workers in the lower risk category “have minimal occupational contact with the public and other coworkers.”

“We also commend the Governor for specifically recognizing in his order that our tradespeople are critical workers and related real estate professional services are essential,” said Carpenter.

Also today, our members made the latest delivery of thousands of critically needed medical supplies to heath care providers in Charlotte and Raleigh. Taylor Morrison coordinated this effort with other NCHBA members of the Leading Builders of America. These critically needed supplies included N95 masks, gloves, safety glasses, respirators, goggles and face shields. Deliveries of these items were made today, and Saturday, to Novant Health in Charlotte and today in Raleigh to Advance Community Health in Raleigh. A total of more than 6,300 individual items were delivered. See delivery photos below.

“We are very proud of our members for stepping up to help our health care providers with these supplies,” Carpenter said. “Home builders not only build communities, we also invest in the people who protect and serve us.”

This post was written by NC HBA.