Building & Health Codes
(Page 5 of 9)
July/August 1974
By the Mother Earth News editors
APPEALING A DENIAL OF A BUILDING PERMIT
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Every county that has building codes will have an established process for appealing decisions of Building Inspectors. The first level of appeal is often within the Building Codes Department itself, where a Board of Appeals will hear your request for a modification of a specific ordinance. You must present your situation and explain why it is impractical for you to comply with the code. For example, you might have to completely rebuild an older house to meet the codes, or you might be located far from any other buildings and thus your structure will not decrease the value of surrounding buildings. In most cases, it will be difficult to convince the board why it is not practical for you to comply with the ordinance, but it is always worth a try if you feel you are being harassed. You should use the same method for preparing your case as that used for a tax appeal. (See Chapter17: Taxes and Assessments.) If the appeal fails, you will probably have to go to court, which involves the expenditure of time and money.
Some people choose to ignore the codes and permit requirements altogether. I have been in many places where enforcement is insignificant. However, every area of the country is gradually becoming more efficiently regulated on all levels. Even if you manage to avoid the Building Inspector now, when you decide to sell your property in five or ten years, your buyers might not be willing to pay a good price for a structure that was not approved. Meeting code requirements in rural areas is often so easy that it is really only a matter of paying the fees.
PENALTIES
The Uniform Building Code establishes penalties for violation of the code in the following manner:
Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this Code is committed, continued, or permitted, and upon the conviction of any such violation such person shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $300, or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
In addition:
Where work for which a permit is required by this Code is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining said permit, the fees required by said permit shall be doubled, but the payment of such double fee shall not relieve any persons from fully complying with the requirements of this Code in the execution of the work nor from any other penalties prescribed herein.
ENFORCEMENT
Most local laws permit an inspector to enter your property at any reasonable hour to enforce the provisions of the local ordinances. If you refuse him permission to enter, as some do, he may leave and return with a search warrant and an entire squadron of enforcers, including policemen, police dogs, sheriffs, and deputies. Sometimes the county agencies use small aircraft and helicopters which scan the countryside in search of new and illegal constructions. By checking the records they know if permits have been taken out on any new construction they spot from the air. If none have, they will pay the builder a visit.
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