The Greene County Planning Board in North Carolina, after reconsidering the county’s manufactured home (MH) ordinance which restricts homes being brought into the county to no more than 15 years old, has removed the restriction and recommended the decision to the county commissioners. A North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in 2009 Pasquotank County had exceeded its statutory authority in limiting homes brought in to no more than ten years old. According to what insurancenewsnet.com tells MHProNews, in 2013 Wayne County lifted its ban on an age restriction for MH, but the homes must meet requirements established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) July 1, 1976, and be inspected by the county inspection department.

Greene County Planning Committee Chairman Danny Taylor said the only part of the ordinance the county has so far enforced has been the age restriction, and that nothing has been done about abandoned homes. He added that electricity is not supposed to be turned on in an MH brought into the county without a certificate of occupancy, but there are homes in violation of that ordinance. Another problem mentioned is if someone brings a home into the county that does not meet the standards, there is nothing to prevent it from just sitting there because it would cost more to remove the home than the property is worth. Currently, the building inspector can only consider health and safety conditions of a manufactured home, such as broken glass or a hole in the floor, similar in many respects to what MHProNews understands is the case in many rural counties where population is low, leading to a lessened tax base that results in reduced services. ##

(Photo credit: jdnews.com–abandoned MH in Jacksonville, NC)