On Tuesday (8/17/04) we had an entry quoting a Washington Post story titled "Federal Regs and State Code for Mobile Homes Tested in Florida Devastation." Today the NY Times has a story headlined "After Hurricane Charley, a New Look at Stiffer Building Codes." Some quotes:
Prompted by reports of widespread shoddy construction in Miami after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the Legislature adopted a statewide building code in 2001 that replaced a patchwork of county and municipal codes.Posted by Marcia Oddi at August 20, 2004 01:10 PMThe code toughened requirements on new buildings for roofing, siding and other construction components, all to reduce flying debris in a storm. New buildings must also be able to withstand wind speeds that vary by region, from 100 miles an hour inland to about 150 m.p.h. in Key West.
The state code allows counties to adopt even stricter standards. But only Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, at the southeastern tip, did so. They had in fact adopted the most stringent hurricane code in the nation in 1994.
Those two counties require hurricane shutters or impact-resistant windows on every residential building, as well as stronger reinforcement of roofs and walls, windows and door openings. * * *
Whether or not regulations are tightened, mobile homes are thinning in Florida, partly because of changing environmental regulations and a voracious real estate market that is enticing owners of parks for mobile homes to sell to high-end developers. The industry will lobby the Legislature not to change any rules that might increase costs, Mr. Pistorino said, as will the powerful building industry, many of whose leaders are close to Mr. Bush, a former developer himself, and to lawmakers.
Builders resist stiffer codes because they increase construction costs, said Charles Danger, head of the Miami-Dade Building Department. The building lobby, he noted, persuaded Mr. Bush and the Legislature to delay enacting the new code until March 2002, almost year after they had approved it.