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EAST PALESTINE -- Village officials are attempting to address whether mobile homes should be allowed in the village outside of mobile home parks.
The matter was discussed during a council development committee meeting last week in which building and zoning inspector John Simon said a lot of people have been asking if mobile homes are allowed in the village in places that are not designated mobile home parks.
Village Manager Pete Monteleone also said he has been asked the question. He and Simon said they are not sure how to answer the questions because there appears to be a conflict within the village's laws.
They and Acting Mayor Alan Cohen noted that section 1252.12 of the planning and zoning code passed in 1973 states one thing while section 1470.205 of the housing code passed in 2003 states another.
According to the planning and zoning code, section 1252.12 states that all mobile homes shall be located in a mobile home park that has received a conditional use permit, and no mobile home outside of an approved mobile home park shall be connected to utilities except those that are offered for sale and are not inhabited.
At that time the law also included an exception that existing mobile homes that were not located in a mobile home park may be replaced by newer mobile homes as long as they met specific standards outlined in the law.
However, the conflict appears because section 1470.205 of the housing code outlines dwelling construction requirements that indicate that mobile homes, manufactured homes or modular homes would be allowed in the village.
Specifically, the code states that if a dwelling is built off site, all wheels, axles, and hitch mechanisms shall be removed.
Simon said there are currently about four mobile homes in the village that are not located in the mobile home park. He said they would be allowed to remain since they would be grandfathered in.
Cohen asked during the meeting if village officials would rather repeal the existing laws and create one new law to avoid any discrepancies.
If that was the case, they would then need to determine whether mobile homes should be allowed outside of mobile home parks, and also they would need to decide if mobile homes, manufactured homes or modular homes should be treated the same or differently, he said.
Councilman Doug Simpson said he personally was not in favor of allowing mobile homes anywhere other than in mobile home parks, although he said he would have no problem with modular homes in the village.
He recalled that when the 1973 law was passed the village was trying to get rid of mobile homes in town.
Simon and Councilman DJ Yokley were concerned about how mobile homes in the village would affect property values. They both pointed out that putting a mobile home next to a $200,000 or $300,000 home could decrease the value there.
Council members appeared to be in agreement that modular or manufactured homes should be treated differently, but how the village would make that determination was not easily agreed upon, with some recommending size restrictions, or a stipulation that a basement be required.
Cohen also appeared to be in favor of allowing modular or manufactured homes throughout the village.
"There has been an increase in size in manufactured homes or pre-fab homes. Some of them are quite nice," Cohen said.
He then cautioned that if the village becomes too restrictive it could keep people from choosing to live there.
"Are we going to keep some people out that are actually going to put some pretty decent housing property?" he said.
Yokley responded that the village's first commitment is to the people who already live in East Palestine.
"When people come to East Palestine they need to abide by our rules," he said.
Councilman Brett Todd asked why deed restrictions were put in place for Leslie Run, and Yokley recommended the village look into those restrictions and put something into place that could be applied "across the board."
Cohen told Todd that the developers at Leslie Run likely intended to have that housing development set off as something different from the rest of the village.
It was agreed that more information would be needed before any decisions during a regular council meeting could be made.
kwhite@mojonews.com