By By Ben Alexander/The Meridian Star
July 4, 2001
In a seemingly endless game of ping-pong, the Meridian City Council has sent an amended form of a manufactured home ordinance to the city's Planning Commission for its recommendation.
The proposed ordinance would allow owners of single-wide manufactured homes to upgrade to double-wides without a change in the area's current zoning. Currently, double-wides are zoned for different residential areas than single-wides.
At Tuesday's meeting council, members voted to change the ordinance to make it effective for only six months: allowing owners a small, one time window of opportunity to make the upgrade to a double-wide.
Both the planning commission and the city council have heard often emotional pleas from owners, who want to upgrade instead of moving. However, homeowners around some of the disputed manufactured homes have also voiced strong opposition to the measure, claiming it would devalue their property.
Council members had initially presented the ordinance to the planning commission several months ago. After several meetings, the commission decided to send it back to the council, saying it had potential legal flaws that could make the city an easy target for lawsuits.
Ben Alexander is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. Call him at 693-1551, ext. 3226, or e-mail him at balexander@themeridianstar.com.