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The county ordinance requires residents to obtain a permit
<br />before setting up a mobile home and stipulates standards for
<br />adequate sewage systems as approved by the state health
<br />department. Installation standards require an appearance
<br />"compatible with the character of the surrounding'
<br />neighborhood" and a half-acre of land for each unit, with at
<br />least two parking spaces for each home and compliance with
<br />state fire safety standards. Mobile home parks with more than
<br />25 dwellings must include a recreation area of at least I00
<br />square feet per unit, easily acces, sible to all residents, with park
<br />plans preapproved by the county.
<br /> Mobile and manufactured homes are popular in the area
<br />because they are inexpensive. Tupelo alone has I2. dealerships
<br />with substantial inventories, according to Lynn Christopher, the
<br />MMHA's attorney.-The MMHA objects to provisions requiring
<br />these structures to meet the U.S. Department of Housing and
<br />Urban Development's Manufactured Home Construction and
<br />Safety Standards because most houses built before 1974 cannot
<br />do so. For the many elderly and poor people occupying such ~'
<br />housing, MMHA says, it will be difficult to obtain the necessary
<br />variances. The MMHA also objects to the one-half-acre
<br />minimum lot area as unnecessary.
<br /> In the new city code, says community development planner
<br />Stacey Mathis, the original underlying zoning for the Barnes
<br />Crossing area allowed manufactured home sales as a major
<br />conditional use. This area includes a regional mall and two
<br />shopping centers and is experiencing rapid growth. The new
<br />development code notes that the bulk of commercial
<br />development in northeastern Mississippi is occurring here. As a
<br />result, both the city and county have a serious interest in
<br />maintaining a sense o£ unified development in the face of the
<br />admitted needs of many residents for affordable housing,
<br />including manufactured housing. And it is that latter need that
<br />is fueling the MMHA's desire, says Christopher, to speak for the
<br />needs of mobile home dwellers in seeking less restrictive
<br />ordinance provisions. David Smith
<br />
<br />Call for
<br />Information
<br />
<br />APA's Planning Advisory'Service would like to update its
<br />information in the following areas: Urban Design Review;
<br />Signs; and Communication Towers--Telephone, Radio, and
<br />Television. if your community has recently produced any
<br />
<br />Zom'ng News is a monthly'newsletter published by the American Planning Association.
<br />Subscriptions are available for $45 (U.S.) and $54 (foreign).
<br />Michael B. Barker, Executive Director; Frank S. So, Deputy Executive Director;
<br />William R. Klein, Director of Research.
<br />
<br />ZoningNews is produced at APA. Jim Schwab, Editor; Michael Barrette, Dan Biver,
<br />Sarah Bohlen,Fay Dolnlck, Michelle Gregory, Sanjay Jeer, Beth McGulre, Marya
<br />Morris, David Smith, Reporters; Cynthia Cheski, Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton,
<br />Deslgn and Production.
<br />Copyright ©1995 by American Planning Association, 1313 E. 60th .St., Chicago, IL
<br />60637. The American Planning Association has headquarters offices at 1776
<br />Massachusetts Ave,, N.W., Washington, DC 20036.
<br />All tights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any
<br />form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
<br />or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
<br />from the American Planning Association.
<br />Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70o,6 recycled fiber
<br />and 10% postconsumet waste.
<br />
<br />regulations, plans, or reports concerning the above topics, we
<br />would appreciate receiving a copy. We intend to display any
<br />innovative material we receive at the PAS booth at the
<br />national conference, in Toronto for the benefit of interested
<br />members. Please send any material to Fay Dolnick, Research
<br />Associate, American Planning Association, 1313 E. 60th St.,
<br />Chicago IL 60637.
<br />
<br />The Economic Impact of
<br />Local Government
<br />Comprehensive Plans
<br />David Denslow, William O'Dell, Anne Shermyen, and Ivonne
<br />Audirac. Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of
<br />Florida, 221 Matherly Hall, P.O. Box 117140, Gainesvilte, FL
<br />32611. May 1994. 144pp. $17.
<br /> Amid the current political questioning of the costs of
<br />development regulations in relation to their benefits, this report
<br />is particularly fitting though hardly conclusive. The authors use
<br />data--including interviews with planners, developers, and tax
<br />appraisers as well as regression analyses--to "tease out" the
<br />impact of Florida's growth management plans and regulations
<br />on property values and development activity between 1988 and
<br />1993. They find that the identifiable impact is marginal, but
<br />have a hard time making a firm case because of the much larger
<br />impact in Florida of the national economic downturn during
<br />this period. As is often the case, much of the most valuable
<br />information is buried in the details and in case studies' these
<br />authors conducted in selected counties.
<br />
<br />Housing Alternatives
<br />for Our Neighborhoods
<br />Housing Committee of the .American Institute of Architects,
<br />Portland Chapter, and Portland Planning Bureau. Portland
<br />Planning Bureau, 1120 S. W. 5th Ave., Room 1002, Portland, OR
<br />97204. 1994. 64pp. $6 plus $2 postage.
<br /> This illustrated handbook suggests the ways in which
<br />rowhouses, multiplex housing, courtyard housing, and mixed-
<br />use housing can all be used to promote infill development in
<br />Portland's urban neighborhoods. Each housing type is
<br />accompanied by recommendations as to the local zoning
<br />categories within which it could best fit plus suggestions for
<br />potential zoning code changes that might better accommodate
<br />such development.
<br />
<br />Operating Procedures for
<br />Preliminary and Final Plats
<br />Planning Department, City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, '7516
<br />80th St. South, Cottage Grove, MN55016. O?tober 1994.
<br />12pp. Free.
<br /> Guidelines and procedures are seldom sexy reading, but
<br />they are essential to the operation of any planning
<br />department, especially for such routine functions as plats
<br />and subdivision design review. This is a simple,
<br />straightforward delineation of one community'~ procedures
<br />for handling one of these functions.
<br />
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