Typical Day

We wake up optimistic, full of ideas on how to keep the majority of our foundation intact. We are sure that the Building Code Administrator will see reason if we point out this or that. As the day progresses, we start to doubt that things can be resolved. The Administrator won't be reasonable - he's got the same issue with a casino. If he gives us any leeway, he might lose his fight with the casino. By the end of the day, we are completely depressed.

So it's the middle of the day as I'm writing this. David and I have been arguing this for over a week now - one or the other of us playing the role of the intractable administrator. Common sense is not going to prevail, so we are taking a legal approach (without a lawyer, for now). Our arguments hinge on the definitions of two terms: "fully enclosed" and "either/or". Since "fully enclosed" is not specifically defined, we fall into "shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this ordinance its most reasonable application." We have three possible definitions:

Our first definition is the common usage argument - all enclosures that you see on the coast and all the pictures of enclosures in FEMA documents show solid walls with small vents. We are nowhere near this. Also, if we were to list our house for sale, saying "2000 square feet of enclosed area below the house", this would imply that the space was secure and protected from weather, neither of which is the case. Our foundation complies with this definition.

The second definition is that enclosures are surrounded on all sides by walls. Fully enclosed, by definition, means that all sides must have walls. So we take out one wall and replace with columns. Now we have no enclosures.

The third definition has to do with how much of the area is enclosed. If it is the whole area, it is fully enclosed. If only a portion is enclosed, it is partially enclosed. And then the either/or sentence comes into play - either the enclosure is certified by a professional engineer, or it is less than 300 square feet.

We're still not positive we'll win, of course. We have about a 10% chance of winning against the administrator, and a 75% chance of winning in front of the Board of Supervisors, and a 95% chance of winning in a court. Let's hope the Board sees reason. We don't want this to drag on another 3 years!

It's 1:30 now - the pendulum is swinging and I am starting to get depressed...