THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407130397
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
A new federal regulation toughening construction standards for mobile homes so they can withstand hurricanes takes effect today, and will have an impact on manufacturers, dealers and buyers in coastal Virginia and North Carolina and other parts of the Atlantic and Gulf waterfront.
Drafted by the American Society of Civil Engineers and adopted last January by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the regulation requires mobile homes to withstand 110-mile-per-hour winds in Dare, Hyde and Carteret counties in North Carolina.
Standards of 100-mile-per-hour winds are required in Beaufort, Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Currituck, Hyde, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Tyrrell and Washington counties, and in the Virginia cities of Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.
The new standards replaces the old 80 mile-per-hour regulation adopted in 1976.
The standard goes into effect despite a court challenge by the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, with the support of associations in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The case is now under appeal in the the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
In April, the court rejected a motion by the Florida group that sought to delay implementation of the new rule until litigation is complete. The American Association of Retired Persons has filed friend of the court briefs with the court in favor of the new regulation.
The regulation also forbids future location of mobile homes within 1,500 feet of the coastline in high-wind areas, except in cases where owners provide for added anchoring.
James Poirot, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, said the new standards will make mobile homes safer and keep prices affordable, a claim disputed by the industry. ``This measure opens up a new era of mobile home safety that will better protect citizens, and reduce immense damages, while keeping prices affordable for buyers,'' Poirot said.
But John Witcher, the owner of Basic Homes and Development Corp. in Chesapeake, said the government has adopted guidelines without telling manufacturers how to comply. Witcher also said that in the near future, mobile home prices will increase considerably because of the new regulations.
``It's business-as-usual,'' Witcher said. ``They've put in a new regulation and not told the manufacturers how to comply. It's not going to affect us with the inventory we've got now, but after the first of the year, the cost of a single-wide could go up by as much as $1,500 to $2,500, while a double-wide will go up $3,000 to $5,000.''
James Quiggle, manager of public relations for the American Society of Civil Engineers, took issue with Witcher's numbers.
``HUD has done a lot of research on costs, and they've determined that costs will rise about 1,200 to $1,500 per unit,'' Quiqqle said. ``It's a clash of philosophies. The mobile home manufacturers who are sensitive to maintaining market share began retooling their industry when the regulations were adopted in January.''
But Brad Torgan, land use coordinator for the North Carolina Manufactured Housing Institute, said the cost to consumer will be much higher than HUD estimates, and could hurt the industry in the state.
``It's not going to have a good impact,'' he said. ``But it's going to do the biggest harm to consumers. Mr. Witcher is closer to the mark than HUD. HUD's numbers are based on questionable assumptions. For example, HUD's numbers assume that the dealer is going to swallow 100 percent of the costs to meet this standard.''
Quiggle said the new regulation will not affect consumers who purchased their mobile home in another state and then moved to one of the areas governed by the new regulation, nor would it affect families - such as members of the military - who purchase mobile homes in the future in another area, and then move to a coastal community.
Witcher said he believes the new regulation came about at the insistence of insurance companies who had huge losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Mobile homes suffered $475 million in damages in the Florida storm. According to the engineering society, 18,000 mobile homes were damaged.
The society contends the new standard will reduce damage to new mobile homes by 83 percent when a hurricane of Andrew's strength strikes regions like the Gulf Coast or the Outer Banks.
Witcher was skeptical.
``There's nothing made by man that can stand up to the power of Mother Nature,'' he said. ``It doesn't matter what the regulations say. No matter how well a house is constructed, a storm can still get it.''
According to the 1990 census, North Carolina ranks fourth nationally in the number of mobile homes with 421,464, while Virginia ranks 18th with 155,429.
During Hurricane Emily, 160 mobile homes were damaged on Hatteras Island. One island resident, Michael Rax of Buxton, was living in a mobile home when Emily struck on Aug. 31, 1993. Rax also weathered a tornado that hit his home in 1991. Like Witcher, Rax has his doubts about the impact of the new statute.
``There's nothing that can be done to stop Mother Nature,'' he said. ``It's dangerous. There's no hope in a tornado situation. I don't think getting them to do this is going to make a difference. With a tornado, you don't have any notice or warning.
``Dealing with nature is just part of life here on the Outer Banks,'' Rax said. ``You have to learn to deal with it. I don't know if there's anything structural you can do to stop storms from getting a house.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DENIS FINLEY/Staff
New federal regulations add stricter construction standards for
mobiles homes, in the hopes of preventing damage like this, which
occurred in Buxton during Hurricane Emily. The mobile home's top was
ripped off.
by CNB