[quote=Eugene][quote]If you adopt tough building codes prices will rise too much and people can’t buy houses. Florida, on the other hand, gives free reign and hard working folks can at least have a nice cozy trailer home, unlike San Diego where many people have to commute from Riverside County[/quote]
Actually, this is not true.
The reason why Miami is cheaper than San Diego (ceteris paribus) is not so much tough building codes, as tough zoning regulations. We have lots of land that can’t be used for residential construction, and more land that is zoned at 1 or 2 acres per dwelling.
Earthquake building codes do not add much to the construction price.[/quote]
Builders used to claim that permits, codes, lumber prices, etc were the reason for the high prices, never mentioning your reasons or land prices.
Earthquake retrofit for buildings can be extremely expensive, esp for hospitals. USCD Medical Center Hillcrest has stated in past that retrofit is too expensive, better to raze the building. Those massive costs are of course being passed onto HMO rates.
BTW, the oldest buildings are government buildings that are most vulnerable with deferred maintenace that won’t get done with these massive budget shortfalls. And yes, these upgrades should be done.
