OMAHA — The Omaha City Council failed Tuesday to override Mayor Jean Stothert’s veto of its updated electrical code, leaving the city to enforce the 2017 national electric code as the minimum standard for now.

The mayor’s veto came Nov. 14 amid concerns that the updated electrical code, as approved the week prior by the City Council on a 4-3 vote, could negatively impact efforts to make new home construction more affordable.

When the City Council met Tuesday, an effort to override the veto failed on a 3-2 vote. Five votes were needed.

Council members Pete Festersen, Danny Begley and Ron Hug voted for the override, while Council members Brinker Harding and Don Rowe were on the other side.

Council members Aimee Melton and Juanita Johnson were not present for the vote.

Stothert aligned with the Republican members of the council, who had objected to the inclusion of a handful of new national electrical code requirements that the Nebraska Legislature earlier this year decided should be carved out of an updated state code.

Stothert said she favored adopting an Omaha code that mirrored the state one, a position endorsed by Gov. Jim Pillen.

Festersen, who had pushed for an Omaha code that mirrored the full 2023 national code, said the council will revisit its discussions. At minimum, he said, the city must adopt the state code version.

The updated code applies to standards of electrical wiring and installation in newly constructed houses as well as additions, remodels or renovations, said Anna Bespoyasny, Omaha’s superintendent of permits and inspections.

“We all know we need to update the code and work together on that in the next 60 days,” said Festersen. He said he also looks forward to “aggressively” approaching the broader conversation of more affordable housing.

The handful of new national code requirements that the Legislature had carved out of its approved state code would lead to extra construction costs. The leader of a local electrical union estimated that extra cost to be a total of about $700, while a home builder representative estimated that cost to be at least $1,300.

A home builder association said the costs reflected the kinds of regulatory demands that keep piling up to drive up construction prices.

During the council meeting, City Attorney Matt Kuhse said that he had determined that Begley had no conflict of interest in voting on the matter, as one home builder had earlier suggested. Begley is vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1483.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/omaha-mayoral-veto-sticks-so-city-co...