Commish questions building codes

Idaho property owners should be able to construct their own homes without adhering to building codes.

That's what Kootenai County Commissioner Marc Eberlein believes, anyway.

Eberlein, the only returning county commissioner in the forthcoming term, recently proposed revisions of Idaho building statutes to the Idaho Legislature. One of them exempts owner-builders from local building code enforcement.

In Eberlein's proposal, he defined owner-builders as owners of property titles who build, erect, construct or act in the capacity of his or her own general contractor for the purpose of building one or more structures for domestic purposes.

"Unlike California, Idaho doesn't micro-manage folks," Eberlein's proposal reads. "As an example, the Idaho statute regarding building codes, 39-4116, allows local entities a choice of adopting international building codes or not. Bravo, Idaho, local choice.

"Being a commissioner of the third-largest county of Idaho, Kootenai County, please allow me to say you have the power to improve that statute. As you know, the Idaho statutory building choice is all or nothing, period. Neither choice is perfect for Kootenai County, comprised of both very rural and quite urbanized, having 300 percent growth the last 25 years. There is no middle ground in statute."

Owner-builders would still abide by state electrical and plumbing codes, per the proposal. Adopting this proposal would be at the discretion of local jurisdictions, and owner-builders would be required to notify jurisdictions of building plans, for a fee.

"These revisions would provide an option while still having the ability to track via building permit," Eberlein wrote. "Planning and zoning requirements remain, the ability to protect aquifer and environmental concerns remain; providing Assessor to assess property value; safety ensured by certification; assurance of full disclosure via the real estate disclosure mechanism; Idaho health districts, state electrical, and plumbing requirements remain; Commercial, industrial and other public buildings are still subject to code as well as residential developments.

Eberlein told The Press that structures like the White House and the Idaho Capitol building were built without building codes, and referenced damaged houses in Kootenai County that used building codes.

"You've seen it going on with the Donald Trump movement, where people are sick of the bureaucracy in everything," Eberlein told The Press.

The Idaho Association of Building Officials wasn't very high on Eberlein's proposal, however. They noted that letting owner-builders build to their own standards and not the accepted, statewide code could present problems.

"Citizens in the United States and Idaho almost overwhelmingly assume that any home on the market will have been built to codes put in place and will be structurally sound," states a letter the building officers association sent to Eberlein. "This puts future occupants in a potentially unsafe environment, possibly without their full understanding of what it means."

The IBAO letter to Eberlein also says, among other things, how these structures could become a burden to respective counties and cities.

"Buildings not meeting safety codes place more burden on county and city services, particularly the fire and disaster service, as they are more likely to be destroyed in a disaster or fire. This is because there would be no control over materials, construction requirements that slow a fire within a dwelling, or make the home strong in case of winds, earthquakes and floods. It also jeopardizes the lives of emergency personnel entering the dwelling during a disaster."

Teri Ottens, executive director of the IBAO, said many within the association — comprised of building inspectors across the state — don't agree with the proposal.

Ottens pointed to a growing movement of anti-government types questioning the purpose of building and safety codes.

"They think it's a way for the state to make money," Ottens said. "But if you don't have codes, you'll have another disaster if a natural disaster happens. You'll have another Haiti.

"And these people who are anti-government and anti-codes are usually the first to ask, ‘Who is going to pay for this?’"

The IBAO also noted that local institutions won't finance homes unless they meet building code.