Vidalia aldermen voted unanimously to adopt the statewide building code Tuesday evening, but they weren’t happy about it.

“We have no choice,” Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

Act 12, a new state law that started in January, requires most new construction to be inspected by a state certified building inspector.

The law was enacted in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in order to create better construction standards in the state in the event of another natural disaster.

But many communities in the northern part of the state, including Vidalia, see Act 12 as creating more problems than it solves.

According to state legislation, inspectors would inspect 10 different entities of a home or business including plumbing, electrical and water systems and foundation work and must approve the permits before a citizen can build.

These permits will cost potential home or business owners more money to build in certain parts of Louisiana including Concordia Parish.

“It’s going to be difficult in this part of the state when there are few (certified building inspectors) around,” city attorney Jack McLemore said.

And while it will cost home owners and business owners more in construction costs, Act 12 will also require the city to create a system for collecting fees and filing paperwork.

“It is creating another bureaucracy that we have to manage,” McLemore said.

“The legislature has created a monster, but we have no choice in the matter,” he said. “It is mandated by law.”

McLemore also said that he hopes the mandate is temporary.

Seven bills have already been filed for the upcoming state legislature session addressing problems with the law.

Many of the bills postpone the law or make amendments to the legislation as it applies to rural areas like Concordia Parish.

State Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelson said that he hopes lawmakers will leave the legislation alone, according to the Associated Press.

“The statewide building code we have today is under serious attack,” Donelon said, and the best thing legislators could do is “do no harm.”

According to Donelson who recently spoke to the Press Club of Baton Rouge, Act 12 has prevented many insurance companies from pulling out of the state.

Vidalia aldermen opened a public hearing on the subject, yet no one from the public made any comment.

“The ordinance has been adopted, much to our regret,” Copeland said.