Hacker News Reader

Comment by j16sdiz | Hacker News Reader

> the same building, under the same code provisions, had 0 violations of egress provisions in one jurisdiction, and 16 violations in another jurisdiction. Multiply this variation times the 20,000 permitting jurisdictions

There are lots of inefficiency here. Are there any effort to harmonize the code? Building code, fire code, tax code...

View on HN

Building code should not be harmonized. Regional differences like climate and geology matter a lot.

There are trade organizations, metropolitan planning organizations, and quasi-government entities that write model development codes that several communities may adopt as-is, but cities and counties are all able to adopt, modify, and repeal codes as their political representation sees fit as allowed by probable interpretation of state law.

There really isn’t a way to make everyone have the same laws everywhere while having local representative government.

However you can restrict what local government gets to pick from so that there's less arbitrary variation.

For example we don't need a code in one town that requires ramps with inclines no more than 15% and maximum distance between flat stages of 10 metres, then the next town has 2 in 11 inclines and vertical climb between stages maximum two and a half feet. They both actually want "You know, a ramp, for like wheelchairs and prams and stuff" and they shouldn't be left to make up the specifics.

It is limited by state and federal law, and ambiguous language means that the law is whatever the bureaucrat reviewing your site plan thinks it means at that moment.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com