Fremont adopts county rules on mobile homes
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on May 26, 2013 1:50 AM
The Fremont Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday to approve a new ordinance removing the town's age requirement on mobile homes in favor of requiring inspections, as well as a federal Housing and Urban Development data plate.
HUD plates have been a requirement for mobile homes since 1976, effectively preventing mobile homes from being older than June 1976.
Under the inspection requirement, the county would inspect the mobile homes for a fee charged to the owner wishing to place the mobile home within the town limits.
The ordinance will require the structure to be in line with the county's guidelines (Chapter 42-42).
The ordinance requires the structure to have all of its windows and doors, that it be operational, and that the structure be painted or stained and have an underpinning.
Also, the home must have permanent steps that meet state building codes and have all of its siding in good condition.
The ordinance came about after Tyron Corbett requested the ordinance be changed to allow him to place his 1991 mobile home on his lot at 105 W. North St.
His lot is zoned for R6 which allowed mobile homes of only eight years or newer.
Outside of town limits in the town's extraterrestrial jurisdiction, the age requirement is 15 years or newer.
Alderman W.T. Smith commented that the mobile home appeared to be in good condition and that a 20-year-old mobile home that has been taken care of can look much better than a five-year-old one that has been trashed.
Smith reiterated his sentiment Tuesday night, bringing a motion for the ordinance, which passed unanimously after a public hearing at which nobody, including Corbett, spoke.
The ordinance is effective immediately.
The board also approved the appointment of Isaac Ryals and Beatrice Edmundson to the Fremont planning board for another three-year-term.
The city assumed right of first refusal for cemetery plot owners wanting to sell their plots in town owned cemeteries.
The city will pay $300 and if they refuse, then the owner may sell the plot to someone else for no more than $300.
Town Manager Kerrie McDuffie said that the bulk of sellers are owners of plots whose family bought them years ago for $5-25 a plat.