by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Planning Board met with the Supervisor and two members of the Town Board, Alan Webster and Denise Church, to discuss the latest draft of the Planning Board’s proposed new local law regulating manufactured homes and recreational vehicles. The law does not go into great detail – it relies on State regulations to explicate the details. Instead the law, just four pages long, establishes some basic ground rules about installation and occupancy of the various types of manufactured homes.
[private]It begins with definitions of different categories of mobile and manufactured homes. It is often difficult to distinguish what is a manufactured home, a modular home, a recreational vehicle – whether it has wheels, whether it has an engine and license plates, whether it has a septic holding tank, etc. The rules are different for different classes of homes, so it is important to clarify what category of home is being proposed in each individual case.
Under the law, a permit is required to install a manufactured home, to install an RV which is to be used for living accommodations, to replace an existing mobile home or manufactured home, or to install a “microHome.” An RV that is not occupied or is only occupied on a very short term basis does not need a permit.
Manufactured homes must be installed by a licensed and certified installer, who will affix his or her warranty seal on the dwelling; they must comply with State and Federal regulations concerning construction and safety standards, and they must have Rensselaer County Health Department approval for water and septic. The foundations must be designed by an architect or engineer to be safe from frost damage, with a “skirt,” and site plan review is required for all installations.
Recreational vehicles can be used for occasional short-term occupancy, but when used as living accommocations the Planning Board must be consulted and a site plan review initiated.
The law does not provide any specific amount of time to define what is short term occupancy and what is use as living accommodations. Several people pointed out that this may make enforcement of the law difficult. Planning Board Chairman Sheldon said he didn’t think specifics like that should be in the law – they can be established by the Town Board from time to time by resolution rather than having to amend the local law. He felt it is important to allow some flexibility to the law so the Planning Board can respond to individual situations.
Tim Church said, “I’m sure it’s going to be a hassle to enforce.”
The law clearly defines the Code Enforcement Officer as the Town Official responsible for enforcing the law.
Despite the remarks made about the difficulty of enforcement, all present agreed that the current draft of the law is acceptable, and the Petersburgh Town Board now needs to schedule a public hearing on this proposed local law before taking a vote to adopt it.[/private]