Cumberland County Moves on Mobile Home Study

Manufactured housing subdivisions are popping up in counties across North Carolina. Southlawn is a gated community, with strict guidelines on landscaping.

Teri Engle has lived here a year and loves it.

"I feel safe, it's comfortable," Engle said. "I can leave my door unlocked, I don't have to worry about anything."

However, the county commissioners have several concerns. During zoning hearings, the commission receives several complaints from residents who claim that factory built housing brings down property value in their nearby neighborhoods.

Commissioners have asked the planning department to start a study. Along with charting where mobile homes are located and where the houses can go under existing zoning laws, the county wants the study to identify areas that have the right conditions for mobile homes, and to pinpoint places where the homes should not go.

Valorie Van Alstyne is the land home coordinator for Ted Parker Home Sales. She said that the study was a good idea, but does not think the county should tell home owners where mobile homes can or cannot be located.

"Once you take a manufactured home and fix it to a foundation," Parker said. "It's considered real property, so why would it be an issue?"

The study will not include the city of Fayetteville.

The planning department will update commissioners on the study every couple months, but the full results are not expected for six months to a year.