Jay Inslee holds a press conference in March.
The Lewis County Board of County Commissioners has asked for residential and commercial construction to be included in the list of essential services detailed in the Stay Home, Stay Healthy proclamation in a letter sent to Gov. Jay Inslee’s office on April 3.
Commissioner Gary Stamper wrote the letter to Gov. Inslee’s Chief of Staff Dave Postman, asking the governor to support construction only for new housing.
Stamper cites construction on primary dwelling units for both multifamily and single family housing as work that could continue using new protocol centered around preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“We strongly believe that, with a safety protocol plan in place and available to workers on the site, this work can easily continue using social distancing and other non-pharmaceutical interventions,” Stamper said in the letter.
The request focused on preserving the economic benefits of construction in Lewis County and the role it could ultimately play in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Allowing residential and commercial construction to take place will increase the number of homes available across the state,” Stamper said. “Limiting construction could likely exacerbate the existing housing shortage, leading to increased prices and decreased availability.”
On March 31, Gov. Inslee updated his Stay Home, Stay Healthy proclamation to include clarification on auto sales. The BOCC and City of Chehalis both sent letters in the days prior urging him to do so.
