Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 7, 1995 TAG: 9506070095
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke County Planning Commission voted Tuesday to allow single-wide manufactured homes on land that is zoned agricultural, reversing a more restrictive policy adopted in 1986.
The ordinance change, which must be approved by the Board of Supervisors before it takes effect, is necessary to bring Roanoke County into compliance with a new state law. The state law, which goes into effect July 1, will make the placement of mobile homes subject to the same development standards that apply to conventional, site-built homes.
The General Assembly's vote in favor of fewer restrictions was considered a great success for manufactured-home builders and dealers. The industry had launched a major lobbying effort to reverse policies it considers discriminatory against mobile-home owners.
But for local governments, most of which already are resentful of state mandates, the change has been less than welcome. They are left scrambling to re-examine and amend local zoning guidelines.
In at least one locality, that won't be easy.
Montgomery County allows owners of large tracts to build as many homes as they like, provided they reserve a half-acre per structure. If the same landowners want to put mobile homes on their property, however, they are required to limit them to two, and they must show that the second one is for an immediate family member.
Montgomery County planners are concerned that they will open the door to "de facto trailer parks" if they do away with mobile-home restrictions without tightening the broad zoning guidelines for site-built homes.
The solution - narrowing the standards for all types of "dwelling units" - isn't expected to sit well with rural landowners who want to put more than one home on their property. A public hearing is scheduled for June 26.
In Roanoke County, the issue was less complicated.
Terry Harrington, the director of Roanoke County's Planning and Zoning Department, said the county already limits landowners to one dwelling per lot, so there is no threat of mobile homes crowding a property tract.
Harrington said Roanoke County's resolution, which passed unanimously and without much fanfare, reflects the Planning Commission's decision "to follow both the spirit and the letter of the new law."
In addition to approving the state-mandated amendment, the commission also voted Tuesday to eliminate its system for classifying mobile homes. Roanoke County had categorized mobile homes in three classes based on design features and the year the homes were manufactured.
Despite these changes, some regulations remain.
Roanoke County will continue to prohibit mobile homes built before July 1, 1976, the date federally approved safety standards went into effect nationwide. No changes have been made to guidelines restricting mobile homes in planned residential subdivisions.
by CNB