Huntsville Round Two - City Council Debates new MH Regulations

The City Council of Huntsville met Tuesday, April 19, to hear on first reading proposed ordinance changes related to manufactured homes and MH communities. The proposed changes would require any new home sold within the city limits to be no older than 20 years old, the homeowner must also have a separate storage building, and there would be new lot and setback dimensions. The proposed ordinance would also change the city definition of an “MH Park” to apply to any property with more than two manufactured homes placed on the property. For any newly developed community it would have to meet the same standards as a newly developed site-built residential subdivision. And finally they proposed to make all existing communities, which there are 35 in Huntsville, over a period of one and three years meet certain drainage, signage, interior road, fire hydrant, and boundary fencing standards.

Seven members of the public testified in opposition to most, if not all, of the proposed changes. Two members of the city’s Planning Commission also briefly testified as to why they brought the manufactured housing issues to the Council. It was also discussed that the Planning Committee’s number one priority for 2016 was to address the "manufactured housing issue."

There were several heated exchanges among Council members. Tuesday night was only what they call a “first reading.” No votes for or against were taken on the measures. The issues and modified recommendations will now be reexamined and brought back to the Council at a later date to be heard on “second reading” where actual voting should occur. There will be another opportunity for local public comments when the revised changes are presented.

For those interested in watching, testimony begins at the 21:21 minute mark of the the archived discussion.

TMHA would like to applaud the hard work and excellent testimony provided on Tuesday night by association members that either live or have direct business dealings in Huntsville. Randy Brooks and Amber Henson with YES! Communities representing the Tanglewood MH Community in Huntsville did an excellent job testifying in opposition to the many unreasonable proposals presented. They were also able to educate the council members on the potential cost impact such proposals would have not only on the community owners, but on to their residents as well. Steve Sherman with Reliable Homes retail dealership in Huntsville also provided excellent testimony in opposition to many of the proposals. Other concerned Huntsville citizens and another MH community owner also testified in opposition to the measures.

Once TMHA found out Monday, thanks to a local story and Jenny Hodge with MHI, the day before the Council was set to meet that these MH proposals were on the agenda we were able to alert all TMHA members in and surrounding the City of Huntsville. TMHA is proud that with such limited notice and time so many local industry members were able to advocate for our industry. Once again Tuesday night proved the power of local engagement, and the debate is not over. The issue of manufactured housing regulations and the City of Huntsville are not going away anytime soon.