THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503090192
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Real Estate
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
What building methods and materials will provide the most wind and flood resistance for single-family homes?
Southern Shores, a small oceanfront community blessed with a never-say-it-can't-be-done mayor and a persuasive town manager, is being funded by a consortium of public and private sponsors to find the answers. What's learned at this small oceanfront town could affect residential construction along the coast from Maine to Texas.
The town took aim at the problems of coastal building after its building inspector raised questions about homes built to engineered specifications rather than the state's building code.
As house designs become more complex, engineers play a larger role in determining how homes are built. ``How could building inspectors possibly know enough to determine if `engineered' solutions are, in fact, safe?'' asked town manager Cay Cross. And were construction crews sufficiently trained to carry out what engineers specify? Cross was concerned about the town's liability.
Cross set out to find help for her building inspector but found few resources. Although recent storms spawned dozens of coastal projects, none was broad enough in scope to provide what Southern Shores needed. Other programs addressed only commercial or multi-family buildings where engineering has traditionally played a key role.
She met a Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator at a conference and complained about the lack of information. Go home and come up with a workable plan to address the problem, said the official, and he'd see that it was funded.
Cross took him up on the offer. She began working on Project Blue Sky in April, 1994. By August, the proposal was complete and she began knocking on doors, looking for corporate sponsors and political allies to secure state and federal funding for the project.
Cross didn't need to knock long or hard. Andersen Windows, the American Plywood Association, Dominion Resources (North Carolina Power and Virginia Power), Home Depot, Independent Insurance Agents, ITW Paslode, Simpson Strong-Tie and State Farm Insurance quickly agreed to sponsor the project. Then Weyerhaeuser and the American Wood Council joined.
FEMA has committed over $1 million to Project Blue Sky. ``It shows a tremendous amount of local initiative involving all levels of government as well as private business, says Richard Moore, associate director of FEMA mitigation programs.
FEMA wants to spend more of its money encouraging building standards and retrofitting that will reduce loss of life and property, says Moore. ``We think Project Blue Sky could serve as an important model for other areas in the country.''
Southern Shores expects FEMA to give the project official recognition at the National Hurricane Conference in Atlantic City next month. The town intends to share the spotlight with its corporate sponsors. Sponsors have been asked to contribute more than just ``raw dollars. We want real participation,'' says Ralph Calfee, Project Blue Sky's resident engineer. ``The response has been amazing.''
Corporate sponsors are already working on ways to cooperate with Clemson, N.C. State and the University of West Virginia, the project's academic partners.
``For Project Blue Sky, the solutions can't be ivory tower stuff,'' says Cross. ``We've got to come up with things that work in theory as well as in the real world.''
``Project Blue Sky gives us a chance to take what we've been doing and put it into practice. It will provide us with better information,'' says Dr. Scott Schiff, assistant professor of civil engineering at Clemson.
In addition to research and development packages, Project Blue Sky will build demonstration models and set up an information clearinghouse and training programs, including a ``Certified Builder'' program for contractors. Consumer education and incentives for safe building are other facets of the project.
But the project's the biggest impact may come from its pre-approved, pre-engineered Acceptable Alternative Materials and Methods (AAMMs) and Improved Designs and Construction Practices (IDCPs). AAMMs will address problems that the building community has in meeting code standards; IDCPs will go beyond the code to offer options for improved building.
``The program is not meant to create a body of regulations for builders,'' says Calfee.
``Absolutely not,'' says Cross. ``Project Blue Sky is an effort to address the problems and give people choices, not new rules.
``We've had a lot of knee jerk reaction to catastrophic storms,'' says Skip Saunders, president of the Outer Banks Home Builders Association. ``Personally, I feel some of the new requirements miss the mark. Project Blue Sky's business-oriented approach may be more effective. It can help the home market without adding regulations and codes which increase building costs.''
Project Blue Sky tackles hazard-resistant construction from many angles, but everyone involved with the project admits that the ultimate test of the program's success rests with consumers.
``We want consumers to ask for hazard-resistant homes built by certified builders just like they ask for the power company's Energy Saver homes,'' says Cross.
Saunders believes that consumers are ready for the concept in the new home market. ``Consumers are paying more attention to structural details,'' he explains. MEMO: Chris Kidder covers Outer Banks real estate for The Carolina Coast. Send
comments and questions to her at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959.
by CNB