Regola Bill To Cut Unneeded Building
Code Mandate
Requirement could increase
housing costs by $3,000
Even though Pennsylvania doesn’t have to brace itself for devastating
natural disasters that are common around coastal and
earthquake-prone regions of the country, a new building
code requirement designed for those areas could increase
home building costs by as much as $3,000 in
Pennsylvania, according to Senator Bob Regola, R-39th
District.
That’s why Senator Regola is introducing Senate Bill 437, legislation that
would eliminate this new mandate which took affect on
January 1, 2007, under the International Residential
Code. The mandate requires all new residential
construction to have “anchor bolts” when the foundation
and retaining walls are built.
“This is a national standard that should have only been
instituted for coastal states that are affected by
hurricane conditions and those states affected by
earthquakes,” said Sen. Regola. “It is an excessive
requirement for Pennsylvania because the Commonwealth
has never had a documented
case of failure under
the previous wall bracing standards. It could
increase the cost of an averaged size single family home
in Pennsylvania by up to $3,000. My legislation repeals
the new mandate and reinstates the previous standards on
foundation wall bracing.”
The Concrete Foundation Association, the National
Association of Home Builders, the Portland Cement
Association, the National Concrete Masonry Association
and the National Ready Mix Concrete Association have
requested that the mandate be removed from International
Residential Code. According to the Pennsylvania
Builders Association, Georgia and Indiana have removed
this mandate and North and South Carolina are planning
on removing it as well.
Patrick Miller,
President of the Builders Association of Metropolitan
Pittsburgh, the local affiliate of PBA, applauded
Senator Regola for introducing the legislation.
“Pennsylvania’s code officials and home builders are in
agreement that this is an unnecessary requirement for
residential construction and we thank the Senator for
his swift action to remove its requirements. Adding to
the confusion of this requirement is the fact that it is
only in the residential construction standards and not
mandated in the commercial section of the code. Senate
Bill 437 will address the costly and unnecessary
contradiction in the codes.”
“This new mandate underscores the need for Pennsylvania
to take a comprehensive look at the administration and
enforcement of the Uniform Construction Code,” said
Regola. “As the Chairman of the Senate Local Government
Committee, I plan to work with the Senate Labor and
Industry Committee to begin this discussion.”
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Contact: Nate Silcox (717) 787-6063
