Rear in a Sling: The Process of Adopting a Building Code

At the public hearing that was held on September 24 regarding a building code, I was asked to make the presentation to state the case for adopting a code in Maquoketa. Most of the things that I talked about appear in the main story about the building code, which is on our October 2001 home page.

The story on our home page talks about what the City's proposed building code ordinance covers, why it is seen as good for Maquoketa, how it will be paid for, and how it will affect the cost of a building permit.

That article, however, doesn't talk about how the proposed ordinance was made better, in my view, than it was when a similar public hearing was held on July 24, 2000 concerning an earlier version of the building code ordinance.

Last July, a much larger opposition to a building code appeared at that public hearing. While the group did not want to see the adoption of any type of building code, its spokespeople took the time to analyze what the proposed ordinance said and why they had problems with it.

As I reflected on the time that passed between the public hearings of July 24, 2000 and September 24, 2001, something occurred to me, that being: Whether those who oppose a code would like it or not and whether those who support a code would admit it or not, the people who stated their reasons for opposing the earlier ordinance made an important contribution to the revised ordinance.

Here's how the new ordinance was changed:

--It omitted several pages of local construction standards that some people felt were either confusing or redundant.

--Similar to the City's current zoning ordinance, the scope of the revised building code ordinance covers only areas where new construction takes place or where the external dimensions of an existing structure have changed. The ordinance from last year would have made new improvement projects with the existing dimensions of existing structures subject to that ordinance.

--Work that does not change the external dimensions of an existing structure does not require a building permit. This is also similar to the current zoning ordinance.

--Work that is done within the existing dimensions of structures and does not require a building permit can be done by anyone. In last year's version, some types of work, within the existing dimensions of building, such as remodeling, would have required a building permit.

--Work that does not require a building permit can be done by anyone. Previously, such work, if not done by the property owner, would have had to be done by a licensed contractor.

--Work that requires a building permit would have to be done by a registered contractor. In the earlier ordinance, a more costly and revocable license was required for contractors. The registration of contractors in the newer ordinance will be done once per two-year period for $10. The idea of registration is meant to establish a process that allows us to know who is representing himself/herself to the public as a contractor.

--In response to other citizens who felt that the two-year period that is allowed under the current zoning ordinance is too long to complete a project, the new ordinance shortens the time period to one year.

As a result of the public hearing last year, the process of citizen participation caused change to occur. And, while the Council didn't decide to end its effort to adopt a building code, the Council members listened to the problems that people had with the earlier draft and made changes within this year's version.

It's a funny thing. Few people really love conflict, but conflict can be constructive if limited to the issue at hand. The people who oppose the adoption of a code were important to the process. And, although it doesn't look like things will end up as they would have liked, they made a contribution, and they remain our friends.

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I have to admit that I was glad to see the extent to which people have checked into our web site during its first month of operation. At the time that this column was being written, there were over 620 "hits" on the hit counter on our home page. (About 10% of that number was caused by me--dialing-in to see how many hits we had.)

Last month when the site was finally published, I went home and sent a message to everyone in our email address book stating that "www.maquoketaia.com" was on the air.

A couple days later, I received a response from one of my hometown friends who now lives in Wyoming where everyone likes to drive 90 mph and there are a lot of abandoned missile silos.

She wrote: "Why is this web site important to me?"

I wrote back: "We might put recipes on it someday."

In order to hold good on this statement, I have listed our recipe for our famous salsa. People who have tried it, compare it to the salsa from Chili's. The recipe has been in the family for about a year-and-half.

20 cups chopped tomatoes, with their skins off. (You have to put each tomato in boiling water for about a minute or two so their skins will come off easily.)

8 cups chopped onions

6 chopped bell peppers

5 cloves chopped garlic OR 1 tsp. garlic salt

5 Tbsp. canning salt

2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper

8 chopped jalapeno peppers

1 Tbsp. chili powder

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 1/4 cups cornstarch

Mix reserved juice with cornstarch and set aside.

Chop all vegetables and add spices.

Cook 20 minutes.

Add mixture of juice & cornstarch to vegetables.

Cook until it thickens.

Process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.