Commissioners plan to look at mobile home ordinance
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 25, 2009 2:00 AM
Mobile home parks are a dying breed and if the county wants to hasten their demise, then all it needs to do is pile on yet more regulations, Gran-tham resident Steve L. Herring told county commissioners this week.
Herring was the only speaker during a brief public hearing on proposed changes to the county's mobile home park ordinance.
No action was taken following the hearing, and commissioners have not indicated when they might act on the proposal.
Herring asked county planner Connie Price when was the last time a mobile home park plat had been introduced in the county. Price said it had been about six months.
Price said the average number of plats was five to six per year for about 10 years. There are more than 200 mobile home parks in the county, he said.
Herring said the parks are "a dying society and business" because of the many regulations being placed on them.
"They change the rules and regulations so often I can't keep up with them," he said. "While it is a dying society, I think you should create more rules and regulations and go ahead and kill it."
Following Herring's comments, County Manager Lee Smith said the county had received no other comments about the proposed changes to the ordinance.
The primary change would be that all plats would be approved by commissioners and not the Planning Board as is the case now. The Planning Board would make recommendations to commissioners.
Price has explained that a mobile home park is different from a mobile home subdivision. In a park, three or more mobile homes are located on rented lots, while in a subdivision the homeowner owns the lot.
In other business Tuesday, commissioners approved the Board of Education's application for Public Schools Capital Building Funds and Lottery Fund.
The school board voted at its Oct. 5 session to apply for the funds.
The $1,321,750 in Public Schools Capital Building Funds will be used as the system's final computer lease payment.
The schools will use $600,000 in lottery proceeds for renovation work at Brogden Primary and Greenwood and Mount Olive middle schools.
The board adopted a resolution proclaiming Oct. 26-29 as Industry Celebration Week in the county.
Commissioners met in closed session for 45 minutes to discuss the location of a business or industry in the county; personnel; and for attorney-client privilege.
No action was taken when the board returned to open session, and the meeting was adjourned.