This afternoon, July 30, 2013, the Town Council meets in a Study Session at 4 pm to talk about the 2012 ICC building codes. Click here for more information. Your attendance in support of the citizens of Gilbert is appreciated.
A few weeks ago, I asked each Council member for his/her opinion on who has the burden of proof for adopting codes into law? Should individual citizens be expected to prove that each of hundreds of codes should NOT be made law? Or should Town employees be required to prove why they SHOULD be made law?
In response to that question, Council Member Jared Taylor responded by copying me on an email he sent on July 9 to Patrick Banger, Gilbert’s Town Manager:
Hi Patrick,
As far as I can tell, the purpose of having building codes is to solve problems. For example, smoke detectors save lives so we mandate them. There is clear data to show this.
As I’ve listened to Kyle’s team, I’m not sure they are focused on solving problems in our community, but more on passing along the recommendations from national/international bodies.
I realize a few state-mandated items were withdrawn, but that didn’t come from our building community. Don’t get me wrong, the IBC’s have some positive things in them.
As you probably know, the 2012 codes will add hundreds of new regulations on our builders. Many builders will profit by the additional work and just pass the cost on to our citizens. The citizens will eventually carry the cost of all the expensive fees, inspections, and hours it takes to design, review, and inspect to the new and existing regulations. This will cost Gilbert families millions of additional dollars very quickly. I wonder about the real value here and can’t support something that isn’t empirically validated to solve problems.
As a result, it seems reasonable that I get hard empirical justification on every new regulation that is being recommended. I would like to see the statistics of how many injuries, deaths, or other harms the lack each regulation has caused in Gilbert and how this new regulation is proven to address the issue.
If we are not solving actual problems, we are simply creating a huge amount of waste for our citizens in government jobs, fees, reviews, inspections, etc. This is a simple ROI exercise that should have been part of the original process.
I would like to have someone on your team provide me this analysis. I’m OK to receive it in a spreadsheet. I know this may seem like a tall order, but given the massive imposition on our community these hundreds of new regulations will place, it’s really not that much.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Jared