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Masonry Industry Promotion Group
In the News Masonry
Ordinances Bring Quality More
city planners are managing urban sprawl's effect on their communities'
commercial buildings and housing quality through building ordinances
that require more masonry in new construction.
Which
neighborhood would you "We experienced a housing explosion in the southeast part of town, and we're already starting to see deterioration," said David Whitely, a senior planner for the City of Arlington, Texas. The city revised an ordinance last December increasing masonry requirements from 65 percent on the first floor for homes 1,600 square foot or less to 100 percent masonry (regardless of square footage) to the top floor of the entire house. "The planning and zoning commission looked at single-family housing design standards overall," said Whitely, whose department worked with the Southwest Brick Institute. Their charge was to increase quality and useful life of the home and decrease maintenance. The masonry was just one aspect," he said.
The City of Aurora, Colorado, learned their east Denver suburb had been named "Saudi Aurora" due to shoddy construction and run-down neighborhoods. "During a rapid expansion of our city in the 1970s, many areas were developed with minimal or no aesthetic construction standards," said City of Aurora Council Member and ordinance leader Ingrid Lindermann. Many of those developments are showing their age and frankly, look tacky. The council wanted more quality development, but staff had a continual battle with developers to get them to upgrade their designs," she said. "Developers countered staff's requests with 'its not specified in the code,' so I decided to codify a masonry requirement. Aurora passed its first masonry ordinance on August 5, 2001, requiring a minimum of 50 percent masonry on the exterior of new single-family homes, and 60 percent masonry on all new multi-family buildings. "The city came to us in major distress," said Ann Sullivan, executive director, Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute, who worked with Aurora from planning through execution. "They were at ground zero for growth, and they were battling with builders every day about what materials to use and how to make the homes higher quality," she said. "They were tired of beige houses and sprawl. They wanted better houses, but didn't know how to get them." Lindermann said the ordinances benefits include better-looking developments, easier maintenance for the homeowner, and more durable housing. "We
spend a great deal of time master planning our communities to ensure
they are developed according to very high design standards," said
Aurora Mayor Paul Tayer. "We are creating unique neighborhoods
with a sense of place in Aurora - the masonry ordinance is one of the
design tools we have established to accomplish that goal." "The reality is that the builder owns the home for a few months, the new home buyer may own it for a few years, but the community will own it forever," said Charles Ostrander, executive director, Illinois Masonry Institute Promotion Trust. "What that house looks like in ten to twenty years will have a direct effect on the community's image and tax base." Although some builders, developers, and architects say housing affordability - or lack thereof - is a central issue, masonry organizations counter with the long-term cost issues of alternative building materials. The
Heartland Brick Council, a Midwest coalition led by the Masonry Institute
of Iowa says an "all-brick home costs only 7 percent more than
the same house clad in vinyl, and that the initial costs are offset
by homeowner savings in maintenance costs, lower insurance rates and
an average 6 percent premium on resale over a non-brick home." Portions of this article taken from Brick News by the Brick Industry Association. Photos courtesy of Ann Sullivan and the Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute. |
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© 2003 - 2006 Janet Crosby all rights reserved
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