An owner and a contractor executed a contract providing that…
An owner and a contractor executed a contract providing that the contractor was to construct a three-story, castle-like structure on a specified location according to plans and specifications drawn up by an architect. The total contract price was $900,000. No date was included in the contract for completion of the home, but the builder was to begin construction one week after the contract was signed. The day after the contract was signed by the parties, the state development commission declared the land encompassing the owner’s lot part of a natural wilderness area, requiring that all residences constructed therein be single story and have plans approved by the development commission. The original plans for the three-story structure are totally incompatible with the commission’s guidelines for residences in a wilderness area. Must the builder perform the contract?