A Maryland property owner who planned to construct a small office building instead built an outhouse to protest rules that would have required him to obtain a certified architect’s drawing of the office project.
Outhouses are exceptions to the requirement.
“When you get to be 67 years old you just don’t need the aggravation,” Gene Pratt told the Associated Press. “I’m definitely not going to build anything there now.”
Maryland began requiring certified architectural drawings in 1993 for buildings that would be occupied by the public. The state forced Allegany County – where Pratt’s property is located – to make the requirement part of its building code in 1998.
Pratt constructed the nonfunctioning outhouse on his land along U.S. 220 to illustrate his annoyance.
David Eberly, Allegany County’s community services director, told AP the drawings can cost a significant amount of money, but state law makes them necessary.
