Turning homes sideways and zoning

mobile home university
1

My park is located in a township with a (mostly) well intentioned but extremely zealous zoning officer.

Our park was built in the 1950s and as such many of the lots are too small to fit decent sized homes, and it would make more sense to turn some of the homes sideways and lay them over 2-3 lots.

Meanwhile, the zoning officer recently informed me that turning a home sideways over multiple lots requires the number of permitted sites in the park to be officially reduced. Then, changing the number of permitted sites triggers a plan review with the state, subjecting the park to: utility system testing, architectural drawings, etc.

I’m guessing this issue is ultimately going to be settled by attorneys (we’ve already hired an attorney once to get them to back down) at a potentially several thousand dollar bill to me, but I was curious if any park owners had ever heard of such a requirement.

2

When you change the direction of the homes you change the park, most can get away with it by doing it quietly and not raising any red flags, still potentially against the rules if not illegal. In Indiana there are specific requirements for this kind of change.

3

This is already on the zoning people’s radar and doing something off the books is just going to make this a drawn out and more expensive proposition. Typically for a non-conforming Park if you keep the same number of lots there is little hassle with configuration, but sounds like you’re going to have to fight to get that.

After the first two conversations between attorneys you will know how much of a problem it will be and whether it’s worth the fight.

What size home can you fit on these smaller lots today? can you squeeze a 14x54 on them?