SULPHUR SPRINGS -- The Sulphur Springs city council held a special meeting Thursday, June 14, at city hall to discuss whether to allow manufactured homes and mobile homes within the city limits. Copies of the Gravette and Gentry ordinances governing such housing, the current Sulphur Springs ordinance, the section of city code outlining maintenance of real property and an ordinance proposed by the planning commission were distributed to each person in attendance.
The meeting was conducted as an open forum. Larry Burge, chairman of the planning commission, spoke first and explained that the commission's recommendations were made in an attempt to improve the town. He said the trend in Benton County towns is to not allow mobile homes within the city limits. They make property values go down, he said, and are more unsightly. He noted the street view is very important to those seeking to buy property.
Eric Wolfe, the owner of a property at 220 S. Bush St., said that northwest Arkansas is booming and, if Sulphur Springs residents want to be a part of that growth, they have two choices: "They can either clean up their property and it will be worth something or leave it alone and buyers will get it for a song."
Wolfe said he believes Sulphur Springs properties could possibly quadruple in value if owners were careful to maintain them properly.
Teena Fox, a Gravette resident who has purchased property in Sulphur Springs and plans to move there, said she is not in favor of manufactured homes in any form because she believes they are cheaply made, deteriorate quickly and depreciate quickly.
In answer to a question about a small trailer placed on Highway 59, just across from the city park, Mayor Shane Weber replied it is being used as a business building, it qualifies as a construction trailer and is currently permitted.
The ordinance proposed by the planning commission would prohibit any home that is not built on site. Current manufactured homes may be grandfathered in but, if they are destroyed, removed or condemned by ordinance, they could only be replaced by a site-built home.
Council member June Murray noted that Gravette's ordinance distinguishes between modular homes and manufactured homes. Murray said she felt Sulphur Springs officials shouldn't discourage citizens from moving in because they can't afford a site-built home.
"If we want our town to grow, we can't say, 'You can't move in if you can't build a home that we approve of.' A manufactured home would be better than an empty lot," she said. She pointed out that she lives in a manufactured home and it is valued higher than some site-built homes in town. She said she would like to specify that the manufactured home would be the primary residence of the owner, not a rental. She also recommends only one home on a parcel of land, no trailer parks, but feels the council should be willing to meet property owners halfway, not just say "Yea" or "Nay." She would like to emphasize beautification and get owners of deteriorating homes to fix them up.
Micah Beauford, a Sulphur Springs resident, commented that many of the issues come down to personal preference. What is aesthetically pleasing to one person might not be to another and "it seems unconstitutional to rule on the basis of that."
Council member Harris Steele noted that Sulphur Springs is an "entry-level town" and said he likes the idea of homes coming in being subject to review. How a home is situated on the lot might be one of the things to be reviewed by either the city council or the planning commission, he said. Steele later re-emphasized the importance of the review process and said the planning commission must exercise due diligence to enforce standards.
Mayor Weber said he didn't think the city should be telling people what they can live in or how they should place it and he is not in favor of the proposed ordinance. As long as a homeowner is keeping his place up and it is not unsightly or unsanitary, it should be permitted, he said. Homes should be in compliance with current ordinances and ordinances should be enforced, Weber said. He noted certain procedures must be followed to notify homeowners who are not in compliance and let them know that, if problems are not corrected, the city will step in and rectify the situation.
Police officer Paul Johnson said he has talked with the owner of several rental properties who desires to buy more lots and bring in more rentals. He noted that a mobile-home park in a town where he formerly lived worked well since it was restricted to residents over 55 years of age.
Council member Bill Middleton said, "If you set standards low, that's what you'll get." He noted that homes and yards that are not maintained present a safety issue. Wildfires are a problem in many areas, he said, and yards with excessively tall grass are a definite fire hazard. "This is not just a rental issue," Middleton said. "Plenty of people who own homes don't care how they look."
Leonard Lovell, pastor of the Sulphur Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church since 1996, said he is more concerned with people than property but "that doesn't mean I'm not concerned with property values." Lovell said he is interested in bringing businesses to town and he thinks one way to do that would be to pave streets that need repair. Mayor Weber replied that he is expecting to receive some money for paving streets soon.
Weber said he feels the city's reputation is getting better, but he wants to improve it even further. He read two questions that were written and dropped in a box at city hall, asking, "If a mobile home is damaged and becomes unlivable, could it be replaced?" and "Can the owner of an undamaged mobile home replace it with another one?"
Weber concluded the meeting by saying the manufactured home issue and the proposed ordinance will be discussed further at the council's regular meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14, at city hall. He predicted it would be a "hot topic" for several meetings and urged any interested citizens to come to the meetings and to write down any concerns they have and bring them to the meetings.
General News on 06/20/2018