OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission voted this week to make an easy fix to code language that will prohibit homes in the Mobile Home Residential District to rise two stories or higher.
In August, Isle of Wight Mobile Home Park petitioned the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider amending the code to prohibit lengthwise roof pitches due to the chance homes in the Mobile Home Residential District could be built two-to-three stories high that would tower over neighbors.
On Tuesday evening, the Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing to consider amending the MH Mobile Home Residential District, Permitted Uses, to state “The area above the maximum building height under a sloped roof not exceeding a 7-12 roof pitch may be used for habitation subject to dormers not exceeding the ridge line, which shall be determined by the narrow width of the main building, and in compliance with all applicable life safety regulations.”
“We have amended the zoning regulation several times in the past relative to the roof line and the use of the attic space to allow not just mobile homes but the district, that includes custom built houses, modular and mobile homes in the Mobile Home District,” Zoning Administrator Blaine Smith said.
According to Smith, the code has evolved over time along with the construction of homes allowed in the Mobile Home District dating back to the 70’s when doublewide trailers with low pitched roofs were added to the district.
As the modular home industry changed, such as with the popular Nanticoke model being added to the community of Montego Bay, the code was changed to allow for a 7-12 roof pitch.
“Subsequent to that we changed our definition of building height to allow habitation above the building height within the roof line as long as the roof line did not exceed 7-12 roof pitch,” Smith said. “That allowed them to utilize that space for habitation as long as it met all of the Life Safety Code … relative to the Mobile Home District their building height was limited to 15 feet from the crown of the road to the top plate of the upper wall…now we are measuring two feet above the crown of the road because of flood elevation … that gives them even more building height and you can come up with somewhat more of a Cape Cod design.”
Smith explained a unit in Isle of Wight Mobile Home Park constructed its roof slope lengthwise versus the width of the unit, which has caused concern among the community.
“What is happening in the Isle of Wight … their lots are narrow and sometimes they can get 12- to 16-foot wide units but when they discovered they could do lengthwise roof line it would give them a whole lot more second floor space,” Smith said.
Glenn Kurka, president of Board of Directors of Isle of Wight Mobile Home Park, came before the commission.
“When we submitted the original petition, we used the term that ‘the ridge line would go with the width and not with the length’,” Kurka said providing a rendering of the unit. “This one has three different widths but it is very clear that they are still narrower than the length of the whole unit, so our issue is to restrict it down to the width whether it’s the smallest or largest; they are still narrower than the whole length.”
Commission Chair Pam Buckley suggested amending the language to simply state, “…by the narrow width of the building not the length.”
Once the public hearing was closed, the commission took the time to deliberate the issue. All members agreed the easy fix would be to add the language “not the length.”
The commission voted unanimously to approve the amendment.