"Critics say Amish religious rights violated by upstate NY town", Newsday, 3/18/08:

The fight began in July 2006 when a member of the conservative Swartzentruber sect was charged with building a house without a permit.

The men do not deny building houses without permits.

They are willing to purchase building permits, but contend the requirements of the codes _ such as having smoke detectors, submitting engineering plans and allowing inspections _ violate their religious beliefs.

The Amish men speak mostly Pennsylvania Dutch and German and have had to use an interpreter to understand the charges against them.

[T]here have been no building collapses, fires, or other public emergencies that would provide the town with a compelling interest to enforce the building code on the Amish, who follow their own stringent building codes, which are part of the Ordnung, Amish rules for living passed down orally from one generation to the next.

In the early 1980s, local leaders and the Amish were able to reach a compromise on safety signs for Amish buggies.

[T]he Amish men would likely be fined if convicted, but could also face jail time and the razing of any structures they build illegally.

via MzEllen & Co.

tags technorati : amish building code