By Kathleen Kukuljan, St. Louis Post Dispatch
ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Eleven real estate industry groups are launching a new initiative aimed at standardizing building code adoption throughout St. Louis County.
The initiative, called Safer Simpler St. Louis County, aims to have consistent building codes and inspections across 88 municipalities and unincorporated St. Louis County. Members of the effort — including St. Louis Realtors, Missouri Growth Association and the Associated General Contractors of Missouri — said there are 42 different versions of building codes adopted throughout St. Louis County and that it has created confusion and increased costs for residents and businesses.
The coalition wants to reduce “complexities and hurdles” when municipalities update and enforce codes.
“We agree it’s vital to unify code standards while preserving each municipality’s ability to control the look and feel of their community,” Megan Werner, executive vice president of the Missouri Growth Association, said in a statement. “And we must consider how the cost of navigating the varying codes and rules can impact a company’s decisions to invest in workforce and infrastructure within our region.”
Other groups joining the effort are: the St. Louis chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Missouri Association of Plumbing, Heating Cooling Contractors, National Electrical Contractors Association St. Louis Chapter, Plumbing Industry Council, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors of St. Louis Chapter, St. Louis Apartment Association, Urban Land Institute of St. Louis, and the Missouri Gateway Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.