In a 7-6 vote late last week, the Kansas City Council approved amendments to the city’s energy code for new home construction after the disastrous rollout of the unamended 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) caused home building in the city to grind to a halt.

After a week of intense lobbying from special interests urging him to veto the ordinance, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas opted to not veto the measure, which goes into effect next week.

The ordinance, No. 260144, amends the 2021 IECC to provide more compliance options for home builders. Updated wall insulation requirements for prescriptive compliance can be met using more cost-effective R-19 solutions. Under the Energy Rating Index (ERI) and Total Building Performance (HERS) compliance path, homes can meet code by achieving a highly efficient but a more cost effective ERI/HERS target of 65 (or ERI/HERS of 70 for single-family residences under 2,000 sq. ft). In the end, the consumer wins by getting a home that saves energy without the significant costs associated with the unamended 2021 IECC. 

The adoption of the amendments marks a huge victory for the HBA of Greater Kansas City (KCHBA) and NAHB state and local affairs team who worked tirelessly to address the fallout of the original adoption of the unamended 2021 IECC.

During testimony on behalf of KCHBA before a U.S. House subcommittee, Kansas City home builder Brian Tebbenkamp noted, “When the code took effect in October 2023, home building in Kansas City nearly stopped. For over three months, the city didn’t issue one new single-family permit under the new code. Before that, the average was 66 permits a month. The number of builders active in the city dropped from 98 in 2023 to just 22 in 2024 — that’s a 78% decline.”

The Kansas City Star reported that in the six months after passage, home building permits in areas of the greater Kansas City metro not under the 2021 IECC soared 179%, indicating that housing demand was high, but none were being built in the city itself.

The adoption of the unamended 2021 IECC was also a catalyst to the creation of KCHBA’s Let Builders Build campaign to raise awareness of the regulations preventing the construction of much-needed housing supply.

As the housing affordability crisis deepens, policymakers from both parties are turning their eyes to housing production. While Kansas City’s recent move had plenty of vocal opposition urging the mayor to veto the measure, proponents were equally determined to get their message across.

On Thursday, influential Councilwoman Dr. Melissa Patterson Hazley wrote in support of the ordinance, “We cannot allow perfect to become the enemy of possible. We must balance sustainability with feasibility, and ambition with practicality. The families of … Kansas City deserve roofs over their heads now.”