Planning board recommends improving county's appearance through new housing rules
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on December 15, 2004 1:57 PM
The Wayne County Planning Board recommended on Tuesday that mobile homes built before 1976 be prohibited from moving into the county's rural areas.
The board also called for minimum appearance standards for manufactured homes. The standards deal with siding, skirting, windows and doors. These would apply to both new and existing housing.
The board's recommendations will go to the county commissioners as soon as next week, but the commissioners couldn't act before early 2005 because of the need for a public hearing.
Planning Board Chairman Wayne Aycock said the standards were reasonable and workable.
"We wanted to do something to protect our county, but we've kept it as simple as possible," he said Tuesday night.
The board has asked that no mobile home that was manufactured before June 15, 1976, be allowed to relocate into the county's unincorporated areas, which is the land outside town or city limits. The ban would apply both to homes moving from other counties and those that are in inside Wayne County's municipalities.
Older homes that are already in the county could be relocated.
The Planning Board picked the 1976 date because that is when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development established a building code for manufactured housing. Homes that met the code bear a HUD label.
The appearance standards would apply to all manufactured housing, although the county commissioners would decide how rigorously to enforce them.
The recommendations are as follows:
*Exterior siding must be in good condition, complete, not damaged or loose. If homes are painted, the paint must be in good condition.
*All repairs to siding must be consistent with the design of the home. For example, if siding is repaired, the new materials must be close to color and texture to the original siding.
*Homes must have a brick curtain wall, ABS plastic color skirting with interlocking edges (keylocked), or PVC painted metal skirting installed around the perimeter of the home. The Planning Board is recommending that the skirting be installed within 60 days of occupancy.
*All windows and doors must be intact and in working condition.
*Permanent steps meeting the state's building codes shall be installed and maintained.
The Planning Board is also recommending that the county be allowed to fine homeowners up to $50 a day for violations.