MOBILE HOMES ORDINANCE: A public hearing was held last night to discuss the new ordinance being proposed for mobile homes, modular homes, portable homes and pole barns. The ordinance, in its entirety, was changed in both 1969 and again in the 90s. The recent changes were made to modify and clarify that existing ordinance. The modification had two main purposes but included a few things, which Ill try and explain to the best of my ability. It is important for people to understand that is has not yet gone up for vote, but this is what was proposed. The vote will be taken at the next council meeting, which will be next Tuesday. One of the things that needed to be addressed was taking out the portion of the citys ordinance which addressed mobile home parks. The city no longer has any jurisdiction over mobile home parks. The state took over all of that. So, we needed to remove that in order to account for that change and not confuse folks as to who was in charge of that now. So, it was removed entirely. The second big thing that needed addressed was some size changes. The previous ordinance set a minimum of mobile homes to be at 12x50 and lots a minimum space of 75 x 105. The new modifications require a minimum size of mobile homes to be 20x40 with lots being a minimum of 50x100. The important thing to note here is that NO EXISTING mobile homes will be applied to this ordinance. The ordinance will only apply to any new mobile homes brought into the community or if a mobile home was to be moved to a new lot, within the community, etc.....any mobile home of any size that already exists on any lot will be allowed to remain as it is, in this size regard and will not be required to adjust to any new changes. Thats called being grandfathered in and it applies to all existing homes. Many believe that mobile homes have been banned in the city. Planning Commission President Bob Maragni made it very clear, at Tuesday nights meeting that this was not the case. He said mobile homes ARE still allowed, they just need to meet the new requirements for size. Mobile homes are also required to be placed upon a permanent foundation, which means they need to come into compliance with the Illinois State law, which requires specific tie down procedures. This is part of the city ordinance as the city must comply with state laws in this regard, as well. You can find more on what that state law requires by looking up Illinois Mobile Home Tie Down Act (210 ILCS 120/1-7). Prior to the issuance of any permit for a mobile home, the owner must get a petition signed from neighbors. Now, that doesnt mean that if you dont get those signatures you cannot get the mobile home permit. If you get the signatures, you are well on your way to your permit. If you do not, you can come before the council and appeal why you were unable to do so. So, for example, if your neighbor just doesnt like you then you dont have to let that stop you. If they have a good reason, that would be considered by the council. But, that also helps people who do not have a good reason pending against them to still have the opportunity to get a permit. Once a person receives a mobile home permit they will be given 90 days to have that home put on their property. There are opportunities for extending permits by working with the codes enforcement officer. The ordinance also addressed some growing issues with portable buildings and pole barns. For portable buildings, inspections are allowed to ensure these are not being used for housing, as that is not legal or permitted by codes. However, portable buildings do not need to be registered. Pole barns, however, need a building permit for construction, as to ensure the property building methods are used if the building is to be used for housing. This ordinance also has a section which addresses temporary housing, such a person who has a camper or RV in their yard and is using it as housing. In the event that a person needs to use such as housing, temporarily, a permit can be issued for that, as well. This could mean someone building and using this as housing in the meantime or maybe relatives visiting. It is for a set time and if an extension is needed, one can be granted to extend time. The point of that part is just to ensure it is temporary and people arent living in campers as permanent housing. If you have any other questions, I will try my best to answer them for you but if I cannot, I will direct you to someone you can or try and find you the details. Hope this helps to keep everyone up-to-date and clear up any confusion in this regard.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 17:16:35 +0000