Wells: Mobile home ordinance 'wide open'

5:32 p.m. June 4, 2025

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

For the second consecutive month, Moore County resident Kevin Wells appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission to raise concerns about the county’s mobile home regulations, urging the board to consider stricter standards for mobile home placement and development.

Wells argued that the existing ordinance is too lenient, especially when compared to surrounding counties like Coffee and Bedford. He pointed out that under current rules, a property owner can develop a mobile home park on as little as one acre, potentially placing up to 10 mobile homes – provided each has a separate driveway onto a public road.

“The way the ordinance reads right now, it’s just wide open,” Wells said. “If someone wants to create a trailer park, they don’t even have to meet subdivision standards. That’s a concern.”

Wells recommended eliminating the one-acre mobile home park provision and replacing it with a clearer, stricter rule: a five-acre minimum per mobile home, similar to standards for other residential dwellings. He also suggested new spacing and setback rules, including requiring homes to be 100 feet from public roads and neighboring property lines. His goal, he said, was not to exclude mobile homes but to elevate expectations and reduce the potential for dense, under-regulated development.

“I think it should be held to the same standard as subdivisions,” he added. “And if someone wants to put 10 trailers on 50 acres, fine – but let’s make sure it’s planned out, platted, and held to a higher investment standard.”

Board members responded with cautious interest. While several acknowledged the logic behind aligning mobile home standards with those of site-built homes, they emphasized that any meaningful change to zoning ordinances must go through the Metro Council.

The board agreed to prepare a formal recommendation for the Council, which could include requiring all mobile home developments to follow subdivision regulations. However, they were also careful to note the broader implications of such a move – particularly for landowners with limited resources.

“There’s always a balance,” Board chairman Dexter Golden said. “We don’t want to overreach and prevent someone from using inherited land or developing affordable housing. But we also don’t want a flood of unregulated trailer parks cropping up either.”

Wells pushed back on the affordability argument, stating that most recent mobile home developments were being pursued as rental income opportunities – not affordable housing solutions.

“If the county wants to attract investment in permanent homes, we need to make it harder to flood the market with rental trailers,” he said. “Right now, it’s just easier to do that here than in other counties.”

Ultimately, the board agreed to place the issue on the agenda for next month’s meeting, where they plan to review ordinances from surrounding counties and consider possible changes. The board encouraged Wells to bring his concerns directly to the Metro Council as well.

“This isn’t just about today,” Wells concluded. “Some of the decisions you all make now will impact what this county looks like five or ten years from now.”