Should the Amish be exempt from building codes?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

TOWN OF FRANKLIN, Wis. – Daniel Borntreger's home looks like hundreds of other Wisconsin farmhouses: two-story A-frame, porch, clothes on the line.

But his home could cost him thousands of dollars in fines. Borntreger, an Amish farmer, built the house himself according to Amish tradition — but without a building permit.

...

Local authorities say the Amish must obey the law.

"They just go ahead and don't listen to any of the laws that are affecting anybody else. It's quite a problem when you got people next door required to get permits and the Amish don't have to get them," said Gary Olson, a county supervisor in central Wisconsin's Jackson County, where Borntreger lives.

...

The Amish population has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the last 15 years, growing to 227,000 this year, according to estimates from Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. As the Amish look for new farmland, conservative congregations have migrated into states that haven't seen them before, said Karen Johnson-Weiner, an Amish expert at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

That sets up conflict between building officials with little experience dealing with their beliefs and conservative Amish who aren't familiar with the codes or don't want to compromise, Johnson-Weiner said.

Municipal attorneys in Hammond, a town of about 300 people in upstate New York, cited Joseph Swartzentruber and Henry Mast in August for building houses without a permit.

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In Morristown, a town of about 450 people just north of Hammond, town attorney Andrew Silver has brought 13 actions against the Amish for not abiding by building codes.

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In Wisconsin, authorities in Black River Falls, a city of 3,600 people about 130 miles northwest of Madison, have filed at least four cases against area Amish involving permit violations.

One action ended in April when a judge fined Samuel S. Stoltzfus $9,450 for building a house and driveway without permits. In July the same judge levied a $10,600 fine against Daniel Borntreger. Another pending action accuses Samuel F. Stolzfus of building two houses without permits.

Stoltzfus believed signing a permit would amount to lying because he wouldn't follow parts of the code that violate his religion, said Robert Greene, an attorney with the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom, which has intervened in his case.

Custom-built homes are allowed in Wisconsin as long as the plans meet code standards, but apparently the Amish don't understand that, said Paul Millis, the attorney suing the Amish in Jackson County.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081213/ap_on_..._building_codes

[Dakine 26]

There are GOOD reasons for building codes. For one of many who wants there neighbors roof blowing into their house because the neighbors roof wasn't fastened down according to local hurricane codes.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

There are GOOD reasons for building codes. For one of many who wants there neighbors roof blowing into their house because the neighbors roof wasn't fastened down according to local hurricane codes.

So you're saying you despise the Amish and wish they were all dead?

[Nagishkaw 510]

They should be given Tribal rights by the Great Father.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Same analogy can be made about illegal immigrants. Ignore the laws while living in the US.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Same analogy can be made about illegal immigrants. Ignore the laws while living in the US.

Are you saying a violation of building codes is equivalent to a violation of national sovereignty?

[Niels Bohr 72]

There's nothing sovereign about those being Amish. If that was the case, then we should treat MORMONS, SHAKERS, KKK KLAN, POLITICAL PARTIES, CULT GROUPS as sovereign tribes.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

There's nothing sovereign about those being Amish. If that was the case, then we should treat MORMONS, SHAKERS, KKK KLAN, POLITICAL PARTIES, CULT GROUPS as sovereign tribes.

Can you read?

[kaydee457 13]

Building codes were mostly enacted to protect consumers against shoddy and substandard construction practices. They were mostly meant to control contractors and builders, not the homeowner himself. This assures that a prospective homeowner can be assured that what he's purchasing met some minimum standard of materials and workmanship at the time of purchase.

The Amish should be exempt from local codes as long as they and the local government officials agree on an accepted method of construction and building that's SAFE and practical to respect their religion.

What that means is that they should not have to meet the same standards of quality in materials and workmanship that a local builder needs to meet when selling to the general population. They have no use for electrical wiring, indoor plumbing etc. and should not be required to install such utilities.

I would think that the Amish sell, trade, or transfer their homes to family members within their own community and the properties should be deeded accordingly.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I would think that the Amish sell, trade, or transfer their homes to family members within their own community and the properties should be deeded accordingly.

I'd think that's a better argument for having different codes for Amish, not to jettison codes altogether.

Also, from the original article:

The Amish population has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the last 15 years, growing to 227,000 this year, according to estimates from Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. As the Amish look for new farmland, conservative congregations have migrated into states that haven't seen them before, said Karen Johnson-Weiner, an Amish expert at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

Clearly, as their population grows and as they migrate to new states, land and dwellings that were once theirs may come on the market. At that time, IMO, they should meet the general code that applies to everyone unless the buyer is Amish. The Amish should be required to bear the costs of these upgrades too, IMO.

[MrsCat 6]

I say they grandfather the existing dwellings and future homes have to be built up to code.

Otherwise, what's to stop someone from claiming being Amish as an excuse to build homes not up to code?

[kaydee457 13]

I would think that the Amish sell, trade, or transfer their homes to family members within their own community and the properties should be deeded accordingly.

I'd think that's a better argument for having different codes for Amish, not to jettison codes altogether.

Also, from the original article:

The Amish population has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the last 15 years, growing to 227,000 this year, according to estimates from Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. As the Amish look for new farmland, conservative congregations have migrated into states that haven't seen them before, said Karen Johnson-Weiner, an Amish expert at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

Clearly, as their population grows and as they migrate to new states, land and dwellings that were once theirs may come on the market. At that time, IMO, they should meet the general code that applies to everyone unless the buyer is Amish. The Amish should be required to bear the costs of these upgrades too, IMO.

Agreed. That's what I meant by deeded as such....

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I say they grandfather the existing dwellings and future homes have to be built up to code.

Otherwise, what's to stop someone from claiming being Amish as an excuse to build homes not up to code?

Maybe that's why their population has doubled?

[kaydee457 13]

I say they grandfather the existing dwellings and future homes have to be built up to code.

Otherwise, what's to stop someone from claiming being Amish as an excuse to build homes not up to code?

I don't think that's a viable argument for any builder as the Amish live with no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no wallboard, etc.....

It would be pretty hard to take a modern built home and try to pass it off as Amish as if it were genuine as it would be blatently apparent it was not.

Anyone masquerading as an Amish person wouldn't want to live in such harsh conditions.

[MrsCat 6]

I say they grandfather the existing dwellings and future homes have to be built up to code.

Otherwise, what's to stop someone from claiming being Amish as an excuse to build homes not up to code?

Maybe that's why their population has doubled?

there's a bunch of people who want old fashioned homes in the USA, so the claim Amish status. For some reason they all ride buggies into town and return with DVD's for their HDTV's and BluRay players.