Brickbat: Blowin' in the Wind

Volunteers in western North Carolina trying to help people left homeless by Hurricane Helene say local building officials are standing in their way by requiring permits for temporary shelters. "The red tape is an issue, now I can tell you, our organization, and I'm 100% okay telling you this, we have been operating on the premise of forgiveness not permission," said one volunteer. Another volunteer said that to get around the permitting process, they are building insulated buildings with no plumbing or electricity that legally qualify as sheds instead of houses. "They are something they are going to be able to keep when they're back in their homes if they opt to live in it—that's between them and the county, but we're giving them a shed," he said.

Comments

[Adans smith]

How about shedding some regulations.

[AT]

"I'm from the federal government, and I'm here to help."

[Minadin]

In this and almost every case, the building code regulations would be adopted and enforced by the state, county, or municipality. So it's a bit more local than that. There is no general federal building code that applies across the country.

In the specific case of North Carolina, they have a universal statewide building code (or set of codes) that is enforced by the state fire marshal and local building code officials such as plan reviewers and building inspectors.

https://www.ncosfm.gov/codes/codes-current-and-past

https://codes.iccsafe.org/codes/north-carolina

[AT]

Cool. So, what's the argument then here? We should house disaster relief victims in deathtraps?

[Minadin]

I suppose my 'argument' is that it isn't some detached far-away 'feds' who are the bottleneck, in this case, as you seemed to assert.

[AT]

I mean, take "federal" out if you want. Point is, you put disaster victims into an unsafe place, you're asking for a tort suit.

Now, I'm 100% for tort reform - but since I'm in the extreme minority on that subject, you get the government you literally asked for. And they wanted building codes for places to warehouse disaster victims. And I get why they wanted them.

[Medulla Oblongata]

Nope, they must be forced to keep living in tents during winter instead of small temporary insulated buildings for as long as we can hold off the growing complaints.

Oh no! The government backed down, sort of...the fire marshal seems sad that some of his overlord powers have been temporarily removed (for 180 days).

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-statewide-rule-helps-get-temporary-homes-to-hurricane-helene-survivors/ar-AA1wihnU

Hundreds of residents in western North Carolina need housing after Hurricane Helene, but building new homes isn’t easy. In response, State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor collaborated with the North Carolina Building Code Council to issue a temporary emergency housing rule on Dec. 10.

Under the rule, temporary housing must meet minimum safety requirements, including being structurally sound, weatherproofed and equipped with items like carbon monoxide alarms. However, it eliminates the need for building permits and inspections, expediting the process of getting people into temporary homes.

“Sometimes you just have to make a decision to say, 'How are we going to do this so we don’t lose life by people living in tents because of the cold weather?'” Taylor said.

With temperatures plunging in the mountains, some have questioned why the rule took so long to implement.

“Trying to go through the red tape bureaucracy. We have to go through, in government, asking for the legal authority and checking all the boxes. That’s what truly took so long,” Taylor said.

[Medulla Oblongata]

Of course, the "relief" is barely that. Even the description of the relief is basically an oxymoron..."minimum requirements address every aspect"

"These minimum requirements address every aspect of constructing safe temporary housing units – from the foundations to the roof sheathing and from the allowed heating appliances to the required life safety measures like carbon monoxide and smoke alarms.

"Equipped with these minimum requirements, property owners may now execute an affidavit affirming that the temporary housing structures on their property comply with the emergency rule, exempting the temporary housing structures from permit and inspection requirements, and releasing the State and local government from liability for the occupancy and use of the temporary structures.

[I was unaware that government liability extended this way? So if my government inspected house falls down, I can sue the government?]

[Minadin]

Yes, government liability does extend in that way. We have code officials (AHJ's) and building inspectors all the time asking for things like signed & sealed 'engineering judgements' any time we want to design something even slightly out of the ordinary, so that they have a document that they can point to and say 'Hey, we questioned it, but the certified design professional told us it was good to go' if there is a problem down the road, that could lead to a lawsuit.

[Restoring the Dream]

Good God, what an authoritarian scumbag you are.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

A small shed to live in, with no electricity or plumbing? Sounds like the progressive WEF master plan for us peasants.

[Longtobefree]

Except for the part where we are assigned to a particular shed, not allowed to own a shed?

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Better work on your social credit score.

[Don't look at me!]

Nobody heard of camping trailers?

[Minadin]

If you put a 'tiny home' on a trailer bed, it no longer falls under the building codes, FYI. And if you don't move it on public thoroughfares, I don't believe it is required to be licensed or adhere to DOT / NHTSA safety standards, either.

We've run into this on occasion when we're asked to design a food truck. The laws are really murky as to whether it's a building or a vehicle or both, and no one wants to be the regulatory agency in charge, except the Health Department. They will inspect the shit of out that thing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...I'm 100% okay telling you this, we have been operating on the premise of forgiveness not permission...

Good luck with that.

[Peter Kreeft taught me LOGIC, BEWARE !!!!!!!]

If it were their family they would completely let the code go.
Thanks to Biden we are getting crueler AND congratulating ourselves on our fairness. China is polluting at enormous rates after the Kerry agreements. Kerry let horrific rights abuses go so he could get a clilmate treaty, broadcasting to the world's bastards what kind of people we are.

JUST LOOK....
China's growing use of coal including the LONGEST coal transporting railway - which carries 200 MILLION tons of fossil fuel 1,141 MILES annually - draws pundit outrage as western nations spend BILLIONS to push citizens to reduce carbon footprint
A Scottish journalist highlighted the incongruity between the green initiatives coming from Western countries and those coming from China
China is responsible for 33 percent of the world's greenhouse gas, but continues to power itself by coal and establish itself as a global superpower

[Medulla Oblongata]

NC state officials took months to defeat their own red tape to allow people to use "tiny homes" or sheds instead of living in tents.

But they're pikers compared to federal officials...

https://www.wral.com/story/fema-lags-behind-its-prior-projection-as-hundreds-of-helene-victims-await-temporary-housing/21762939/

FEMA lags behind its prior projection as hundreds of Helene victims await temporary housing

FEMA approved 536 households impacted by Hurricane Helene for temporary housing units, which are move-in ready trailers. WRAL has learned only 57 households have received them, more than two months since the storm hit.

FEMA approved 536 households impacted by Hurricane Helene for temporary housing units, which are move-in ready trailers. WRAL has learned only 57 households have received them, more than two months since the storm hit.

That is far behind FEMA's original projection of having 103 units occupied by Thanksgiving. WRAL Investigates asked FEMA why it was not keeping pace with what it promised and when families could expect to have their temporary housing units.

A spokesperson provided a response that did not directly answer those questions, writing, in part:

"FEMA recognizes that post-disaster housing is one the most important missions to help survivors, it’s important to know that FEMA’s housing solutions are not a one size fits all. Our programs are designed to meet each survivor’s unique needs and preferences for their families."

In a Zoom call on Nov. 22, FEMA officials explained that the temporary housing units are challenging to deploy in part because of the geography and in part because of all of the various steps and permissions that need to be achieved to make them safely habitable.

"Direct housing is tailored to meet the individual needs of survivors and site-specific considerations and so it can take a significant amount of time to implement," said Julia Moline, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Logistics Operations at FEMA Headquarters. "It takes time to assess sites, to transport, permit, install and inspect these homes."

"We are in a hurry and I know sometimes that doesn't feel that way," said Jeremy Slinker, FEMA Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer. "But we are trying to move as fast as we can. We also don't want to install a unit that's improper."

[MWAocdoc]

I keep waiting for the average Joe to wake up one morning and realize that government is not his friend, but after sixty years of disappointment I'm starting to think I shouldn't be holding my breath any more. I guess my fellow Americans will continue to demand that government ought to fix everything they don't like, make someone else pay for it and say, "There oughta be a law!" every time they watch "Oprah" on teevee. Or maybe the storm victims in North Carolina just like being abused ... I don't know ...