So, it turns out people can’t just decide to build themselves a new domicile and gather the neighbours to hold the walls up while someone else nails them together. Daniel Borntreger faces fines for building his own home and so do more Amish families.
His case is among at least 18 legal actions brought against Amish residents in Wisconsin and New York in the past year and a half for building without proper permits, according to court records, attorneys and advocates for the Amish.
The cases have sparked local debates about where religion ends and government begins. Amish advocates—the Amish religion precludes them from defending themselves physically or legally—argue the Amish belief that they must live apart from the world trumps local regulations.
“The permit itself might not be so bad, but to change your lifestyle to have to get one, that’s against our convictions,” Borntreger said as he sat in his kitchen with his wife, Ruth.
But local authorities say the Amish must obey the law.
“They just go ahead and don’t listen to any of the laws that are affecting anybody else. It’s quite a problem when you got people next door required to get permits and the Amish don’t have to get them,” said Gary Olson, a county supervisor in central Wisconsin’s Jackson County, where Borntreger lives.
That never would have occurred to me.
I think I was spoiled by growing up on a farm. Dad wanted a tree down, he’d cut a tree down and use or sell the wood. He wanted a shed, he built a shed. He didn’t have to worry about it not matching the look of the house, unlike a cousin of mine in a controlled development suburb where even the dog house has to look as rich and fancy as the facade of every other identical house on the street. As far as I know, all Dad’s ever phoned is the power company to make sure he doesn’t hit any underground wiring when he digs. Dad’s brothers helped another one build his house a few years ago. I presume, though, that their blueprint was made official in some kind of way. But they still built the thing themselves and I don’t think any of them are trained journeymen, although Dad did work as an electrician when he was younger. They did all the concrete, assembling, wiring, drywalling, plumbing, painting, flooring, and roofing. And they certainly didn’t cut any corners, unlike the builders of the condo another uncle regrets ever buying.
One action ended in April when a judge fined Samuel S. Stoltzfus $9,450 for building a house and driveway without permits. In July the same judge levied a $10,600 fine against Daniel Borntreger. Another pending action accuses Samuel F. Stolzfus of building two houses without permits.
Stoltzfus believed signing a permit would amount to lying because he wouldn’t follow parts of the code that violate his religion, said Robert Greene, an attorney with the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom, which has intervened in his case.
Custom-built homes are allowed in Wisconsin as long as the plans meet code standards, but apparently the Amish don’t understand that, said Paul Millis, the attorney suing the Amish in Jackson County. The Town of Albion, where Samuel F. Stolzfus lives, waived a requirement that permits be signed so the Amish could avoid violating their religious beliefs, but they still won’t comply, he said.
I don’t know where I fall on this one. I get the need to have safety in mind when it comes to buildings, but if they don’t want to use quality graded lumber or smoke detectors, or buy proper house plans from a trained architect, does that really have to be a concern for the whole state? I guess I get why neighbours would be pissy – why do they have to conform to all the zany rules if the Amish don’t – but still. It’s still considered their property they build on, isn’t it? Why is it anyone else’s business what they do? And it’s not like they don’t have the skills. They’ve been doing for themselves for a hundred some years but they’re somehow unqualified to make their own decisions about house design? Whatever they do must work, right? Why does it matter if it’s not exactly like everyone else?
I don’t get what the big deal is.
