Every time I hear that a jurisdiction wants to weaken its building code to placate local developers, I shake my head in disbelief. We forget that modern building codes prevent tragedies. On Saturday, a 7 story apartment building in Bangladesh started tilting drastically into a 17 story building nearby. A report from that area states that:
The foundation of Kathalbagan building which was constructed on a filled up pond was required to reach a depth of 65 feet below the ground. But the developer found it convenient to carry out piling work up to a depth of 25 feet.
(You can see a picture at http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=26902 We need to remind our local officials that these types of tragedies rarely happen because we have strong building codes.