Masonry Magazine February 2004 Page. 56
MCAA News
Regional News continued from page 52
Minnesota
Published in the Twin Cities Finance and Commerce, "Homebuilder avoids jail in Supreme Court ruling." January 2, 2004:
In a case that was closely watched by the residential construction industry, the Minnesota Supreme Court this week reversed a lower court ruling that held a Stillwater homebuilder criminally liable for violating the state's building code.
John Arkell, president and CEO of Stillwater-based Carriage Homes, was found guilty in February 2000 for violating the building code on a Carriage Homes townhome project in Austin, Minn.
Last March, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the Mower County District Court's decision. Arkell appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which said the appeals court erred when it classified the violation as a "strict liability" offense, which could have put the builder in jail.
Supreme Court Justice James H. Gilbert wrote that it would be a "dangerous precedent" to classify the building code as a public welfare statute, because building codes vary between cities and circumstances and enforcement are unequal.
Missouri
Reported by the St. Louis Business Journal. "Metro area to be studied for earthquake hazards, December 29, 2003:
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is helping the U.S. Geological Survey in the five-year study, which will produce detailed maps for engineering used in the design and evaluation of buildings and other man-made structures, said David Hoffman, an environmental hazards geologist with the Geological Survey and Resource Assessment Division in Rolla, Mo. The mapping is used in building codes to provide minimum standards for engineering design, he said. The information is the first step in creating earthquake hazard maps and providing data to evaluate risk.
The department will create and provide information for a database of soil characteristics for the St. Louis metropolitan area.
New Hampshire
Reported by the Portsmouth Herald, "Back Bay-style townhouses rise in the city." December 28, 2003:
Shielded from rain, sleet and snow beneath a huge plastic canopy tied to scaffolding, brick workers are replicating the look of Boston's Back Bay row houses in downtown Portsmouth.
Classic red brick now covers the front face of the Porter Street Townhouses, 11 new luxury residences built on a 1.5-acre pie-shaped wedge near The Music Hall. Come spring, the streetscape will be completed with brick sidewalks, granite.
Regional News continued on page 56
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