ORLANDOFla. - Central Florida building inspectors were hoping to write rules to better protect all of us from a repeat performance from the hurricanes of 2004.

Local officials wanted tougher and more specific building codes so new homes could be more water-tight, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

The state building commission turned down that suggestion Tuesday afternoon.

Bob Olin, an Orange County building official, was in favor of tougher codes after hearing from plenty of angry homeowners. He said it's been 44 years since Central Florida experienced a real hurricane and three storms in a row should change the building codes.

"The building codes adequately addressed the situation we were dealing with then. Do they adequately address the situation that we're facing now? I don't think so. That the exterior wall should provide weather protection for the inside of the building, it gives us no definition of what that means. There's no criteria and no standard to build to and to inspect to," Olin said.

Olin asked the Florida Building Commission to change that and to take homeowner complaints to the Legislature so tougher guidelines can be passed. He said since commercial properties already have tougher and specific guidelines, private properties should, too.

The vote failed 20-to-1. The committee said they didn't think there were enough investigations to justify altering the code.

The state panel said changing the codes would be a knee-jerk reaction and that many homeowners could stop their own leaks if they maintained their new homes better.

Olin left the meeting extremely disappointed. There's no word about whether he might try to change Orange County's codes and wait to see if that will spread across the state.

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