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Zoning Bulletin May 10, 2018 I Volume 12 I Issue 9 <br />Nonconforming Use City <br />claims addition of structures <br />and expansion of homes within <br />mobile home park amounts to <br />an illegal expansion of a <br />nonconforming use <br />Park owner argues nature and character of use <br />have not changed and thus his vested right in the <br />nonconforming use remains <br />Citation: City of Des Moines v. Ogden, 2018 WL 1357471 (Iowa 2018) <br />IOWA (03/16/18)—This case addressed the issue of whether intensi- <br />fication of a mobile home park use, through addition of structures or <br />expansion of homes within the park, amounted to an illegal expansion <br />of an authorized nonconforming use. <br />The Background/Facts: Mark Ogden owned property (the "Prop- <br />erty") in Des Moines (the "City") on which he operated a mobile home <br />park known as OakHill Mobile Home Park ("Oak Hill"). The history of <br />the use of the Property was unclear, but from approximately 1941 to <br />1947, the Property was used as a tourist camp. Between 1947 and 1955, <br />the Property became Oak Hill Mobile Home Park. In 1955, a prior <br />owner of Oak Hill obtained from the City a certificate of occupancy that <br />allowed for the operation of the mobile home park as a nonconforming <br />use. From 1955 until 2014, the City took no zoning action against Oak <br />Hill. However, in 2014, a City zoning administrator informed Ogden of <br />"numerous violations of municipal zoning codes" on the Property. <br />Among other things, the zoning administrator cited numerous setback <br />violations, lot size violations, and failure to maintain an unobstructed <br />driveway and a specific feet of clearance between trailers. <br />After receiving the enforcement notice, Ogden failed to respond to <br />the City's directive that he bring the Property "into compliance or enter <br />into a compliance plan." Thereafter, the City brought a legal action <br />against Ogden. The City asked the court to order Ogden to cease use of <br />the Property as a mobile home park. <br />Ultimately, the district court held that discontinuance of the mobile <br />home park nonconforming use was "necessary for the safety of life or <br />property" and that "the changes to the [P]roperty were unlawful expan- <br />sions of the existing nonconforming use." In so holding, the court <br />© 2018 Thomson Reuters 9 <br />