As a resident of the Golden State, I'll just submit this without comment.
Calif. lawmaker wants building officials to consider feng shui
More hippy, dippy jokes about California might be on the way, thanks to a state lawmaker who wants building codes to consider feng shui.
State Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, has introduced a resolution that urges public building officials to accommodate feng shui - the ancient Chinese art of designing structures and arranging objects to create harmonious energy flow.
Yee said Friday he underestimated the controversy the legislation would bring when he introduced it earlier this month.
"We've been the recipients of some joking in the capitol," Yee said at a news conference, flanked by feng shui experts Steven Post and Eagle Wong.
The resolution isn't meant to become law or force cities to change how buildings are constructed. Instead, Yee said, it would simply encourage building officials to accommodate the concept and be more sensitive to a cultural practice that can improve environments where people live and work.
For example, some homeowners haven't been able to put doors on certain sides of their houses because local building laws don't accommodate their feng shui-based preference, Yee said.
But with California facing a steep budget shortfall, Yee's idea might not pencil out.
"We're so strapped with resources right now," said Stan Nishimura, executive director of the state's Building Standards Commission. And "we know nothing about feng shui."
The building industry is also resisting the legislation, citing California's housing shortage and existing regulations that already make building new homes expensive and difficult.
"The Legislature should be less focused on what goes into a new home and more on making sure that enough new homes are built," said John Frith, a spokesman for the California Building Industry.
But Yee said the legislation isn't meant to be a mandate that will burden development.
Many basic feng shui concepts are similar to existing, good design measures, Post said. For example, feng shui says entryways should be bright and inviting with lots of light and offices and living rooms should be located near the front of the home, while bedrooms should be put farther inside.
If Yee's legislation passes in the Legislature, it wouldn't be the first time public building officials and architects have run into or used the practice.
Two years ago, Sausalito voters rejected a new police and fire building project because some residents claimed the structure would ruin the upscale city's feng shui.
mercurynews.com
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