Judiciary Committee

Subcommittee on the Constitution

Hearing 10-28-99

Testimony Submitted 10-26-99

Len Tozer

Tozer Builders, Inc.

150-A East Firetower Road

Winterville, NC 28590

Mr. Chairman and Members of Congress, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address you today and, as Paul Harvey says "Now the other side of the story."

My name is Len Tozer and I'm a licensed general contractor building single-family, multi-family and commercial buildings in the Winterville, N.C. area. On May 10, 1999, I was cited for possible violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act. To have the guns of the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at me was very disturbing. What law had I violated?

As a builder I do not design buildings, but I construct them based on plans drawn by engineers and architects. In North Carolina we submit plans drawn by engineers and architects to our local building inspections department. They approve them and issue the builder building permits. The project that I was cited on, Meridian Park, was approved by our local building inspections department based on the North Carolina Building Code. We passed all inspections and were issued certificates of occupancy, only to he cited by the Justice Department. How was I to have known of this law? I followed the procedure required by the State of North Carolina.

Why are there so many builders, architects, engineers and developers across this country unaware of this law? There is a big problem, but it's not the law or the builders, architects and engineers. It is the way this law has been administered. I support this law 100%. Having a good friend who is a quadriplegic, I know first hand the difficulty of the disabled community. In fact, because of the poor administration of this law, the disabled community has been shortchanged. If the Federal Government had mandated this law to the states, as they did with wetlands, to be incorporated in their building codes, we wouldn't have this problem. In North Carolina, our building code is constantly changing and we as builders, architects and engineers comply. None of us would willingly violate the law and lose our licenses.

As a small builder with no employees, it is frightening to think of the consequences of the violation of this federal law. To think all that I have worked for over the past 25 years could be ruined. It is very disturbing. Many of the documents I have looked at on the penalties of other builders only brings me to the conclusion that my business is in jeopardy. By North Carolina State law, I am required to maintain a certain amount of working capital to maintain my license. Currently, I'm right at the minimum. I do not have the resources to retrofit these units to meet the Federal law.

I feel I have been treated unfairly, as well as the disabled community. HUD has spent more money policing this law than educating builders, architects and engineers. As a matter of fact, builders don't design we build. HUD's education should be aimed at architects and engineers. The bounty hunting by HUD is wrong, it doesn't fix the problem and is unfair.

As a decorated Vietnam Veteran, 31 years ago I was sent to a Hell Hole called Vietnam which could have cost me my life. Now I am looking at the possibility of the Department of Justice destroying my business. To say I'm disappointed in my government is an understatement. For me it is too late, but for my fellow builders and the disabled community the time is now. Time to right a wrong, fix a problem and make this law what is was intended to be at the time it was written.