By Staff
Feb. 18, 2001
The Meridian City Council will soon announce a date for public hearings on an issue likely to be controversial because it has the potential of pitting neighbor against neighbor, neighborhoods against neighborhoods. It also goes to the heart of a fundamental question over individual rights and community standards.
The issue is whether to allow owners of older manufactured homes to upgrade to newer, larger mobile homes without the consent of the city zoning board. This could require a change to the city's zoning ordinances.
Under current law, a public hearing must accompany any potential change to a city's zoning laws. Current zoning laws require re-zoning of whole areas in cases where a resident wishes to upgrade from a single-wide to double-wide housing. The city's current laws also only allow manufactured housing in certain areas of the city.
This situation presents a real dilemma for city officials. While many residents who have been living in older manufactured housing now want to upgrade to larger, more comfortable and, frankly, more visually appealing double-wides, some of their neighbors want to ban all manufactured housing from their neighborhoods.
Arguments on both sides will be explored during public hearings, presenting another good opportunity for the public's voice to be heard.