Statewide building code proposed Bill would replace conflicting local rules for construction, efficiency

AUGUSTA – The House is expected to take up a bill today that proposes to replace the myriad of town building and energy codes with a uniform, statewide code.

The bill is gaining popularity statewide, even from groups that historically have been opposed to such a plan.

LD 2257, An Act to Establish a Uniform Building and Energy Code, would replace Maine’s town-by-town building codes with a single statewide code for commercial and residential construction and renovation, including the state’s first energy-efficiency standards.

Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine and the Maine Municipal Association are two groups that support the concept of a statewide code but have not agreed with legislation put forth in the past decade. Both groups are opposed to mandatory enforcement of the code in all communities. The majority version of the bill requires communities of more than 2,000 people to implement the code.

“There are communities that may not be able to enforce [the code] without some resources and costs being added to whatever enforcement they have now,” said MMA spokesman Michael Starn. “Enforcement of that regulation ends up being a cost to local taxpayers because the state doesn’t want to put up the resources to enforce it.”

Kathleen Newman, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine, said her organization would like to see the energy standards removed.

“We also felt that the energy code portion should be dealt with separately,” Newman said. “People are going to be building energy-efficient homes, but if someone decides not to, who’s the government to say they can’t?”

The Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development Committee amended and endorsed the bill by a 9-4 vote. The committee’s House chairman, Rep. Nancy Smith, D-Monmouth, said she introduced the bill to improve the business climate in Maine.

A 2006 Brookings Institution report on Maine’s economy identified Maine’s “crazy-quilt patchwork” of building code regulations as a major obstacle to redevelopment and revitalization in Maine’s cities and historic downtowns.

The report said the state’s “lack of a uniform statewide building code seriously hinders redevelopment by injecting uncertainty into investors’ decision-making, consuming time and making clear guidance from a central source impossible to obtain.”

The proposed law would require towns that already enforce a code to replace it with the new code by 2010. Towns that do not have codes would have to adopt the new one by 2012. If communities with more than 2,000 residents don’t have their own code enforcement officer, the law would allow them to require homeowners or developers to hire an inspector at their own expense, then submit the report to the town.

Connie Sands, code enforcement officer in Dover-Foxcroft, said her job is to oversee land use, and currently the town has no one to inspect new homes. The State Fire Marshal’s Office inspects commercial spaces, she said. The bill would apply to her town of more than 4,000 people.

“It’s just more responsibilities placed on code enforcement officers that are pretty busy to the max already,” Sands said.