Lillington woman denied permit to replace home

A Lillington woman whose house was destroyed by a fire will not be allowed to put a mobile home in its place, the town’s Board of Commissioners ruled.

Posted 9:23 p.m. Aug 13, 2009 — Updated 10:46 p.m. Aug 13, 2009

LILLINGTON, N.C. — A Lillington woman whose house was destroyed by a fire will not be allowed to put a mobile home in its place, the town’s Board of Commissioners ruled.

Malinda Harris, 53, lived at 206 Washington St. most of her life until a fire destroyed her home in April.

She is renting a place on the outskirts of Lillington but recently requested to put her own mobile home on the lot.

“If I can get something to live in here, I’ll be satisfied,” Harris said.

Under the current ordinance, someone wanting to put a mobile home within town limits must get a conditional use permit. The planning board recommended to the board that it allow the mobile home, given Harris’ circumstances, but in a 3-2 vote, the request was denied.

“It’s very important because I grew up here. I have family here. I go to church right here,” Harris said.

There are other mobile homes on Washington Street, but they were placed before Lillington revised its zoning.

The three commissioners who voted against Harris' request could not be reached for comment.

“I made my decision based on the laws and ordinances of Lillington. We have a great planning board who looks at these issues in great depth. They recommended approval. With no ‘local community’ disapproval, I did not feel there was reasonable evidence to not grant (a) conditional use permit,” Commissioner Sonya Arnold said in a handwritten letter on Thursday.

Commissioners suggested a modular home for the site, but Harris said that would be out of her price range.

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