Residents say county officials must follow their own code for manufactured home parks, as a new committee looks at ways to update controversial sections of the code.
At the first meeting of the committee Feb. 4, member and homeowner Dixie Boucher had strong words for county officials: “What we have is complete disregard or misinterpretation of the code,” she said. “People are hearing about our issues and backing off from moving here. We need to follow rules regarding variances and setbacks.”
The new committee is confronting old, long-standing issues in some of the county’s parks. Many of the problems deal with variances and setbacks in older parks on small lots. Boucher said a problem is created in older parks when variances are granted for placing of doublewide homes on lots designed for singlewide homes.
Many lots in older parks are less than the 5,000 square feet required by code today. Under county code, homes and attachments cannot exceed 35 percent of the gross lot size. Placing new, larger homes on small lots also often violates county setback regulations, she said.
Bobbie Hemmerich, a resident of McNichol Place in Lewes, said variances are handed out like penny candy. “They should be handed out very rarely,” she said.
Boucher said a hardship must be presented to allow for a variance.
“What is a hardship for allowing a doublewide on a singlewide lot?” she asked. “What is hardship? How do you determine that?”
There is no clear definition of hardship; the board of adjustment decides on a case-by-case basis, said Lawrence Lank, committee member and director of county planning and zoning.
Boucher said park owners should be required to combine two small lots into one larger lot for the placement of doublewide homes if the home coverage exceeds code.
Park owner and committee member Steve Class said the cost of combining two lots into one would be prohibitive to homeowners. “Would people go from $400 a month rent to $900 a month to place their home?” he asked. “I don’t think so.”
Lank said some parks predate county zoning in 1968, and even when zoning was instituted in 1971, parks were permitted to have lots of less than 4,000 square feet.
Boucher said placing homes close together, with variances for lot-size coverage and setback infringement, creates safety problems related to fires.
Class said there have been five fires in 35 years in his parks containing 700 lots; most were caused by human error. He said there are fewer manufactured-home fires than fires in stick-built homes, and today’s homes are built to strict fire standards.
He said the distance between homes should not be an issue either. He said the City of Rehoboth Beach allows 5-foot setbacks between property lines. County code requires a 10-foot setback from the property line, but some older parks have setbacks of only 5 feet.
Boucher suggested that the state Fire Marshal’s Office should review every variance application before it is presented to the board of adjustment.
“We will take a look at that, but we can’t force them to respond,” said committee member David Baker, the county administrator.
Class said the time has come for the county to change its 20-foot separation regulation, what he called an isolation district. No structures can be placed within the 20-foot section between homes or violate the setback regulations without a variance.
He said the separation district should be reduced to at least 17 to 18 feet to better accommodate wider homes in older parks. He said most new homes are from 16 to 20 feet wide.
Boucher said she did not support a change without input from the Fire Marshal’s Office and planning and zoning staff. “There was a reason they choose 20 feet. To change the regulation, I want it justified,” she said.
Lank suggested removing sheds from the regulation, which would allow for a little more leeway in the separation zone.
Jeanne Sisk, who lives in Sea Air Mobile Home Park, said the regulation should be changed to include living space only and not include attachments such as porches, decks and sheds.
The committee has a hit list of items for discussion: changes in regulations for steps and landings; exemption of handicap ramps from variance requirements; changes in setback, variance and separation zone regulations; and a better definition of accessory buildings.
Class said changes should be in the direction of less government involvement.
“More should be done within the communities and not the county government,” he said.
Other committee members are J. Everett Moore, county attorney, and Ed Speraw, president of the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners Association. Alternates include Boucher; Robert Tunnell III, park owner; Vince Robertson, assistant county attorney; Shane Abbott, assistant director of planning and zoning; and Hal Godwin, deputy county administrator.
|
