BERLIN – The town’s board of appeals approved plans last week to move a modular home from a site in Whiton to a vacant lot on Branch Street.
The board voted unanimously to approve a request from Bill Shockley of J.W. Shockley and Sons Inc. to move a pre-built Nanticoke home from a property in Whiton to the lot at 229 Branch St.
“We believe it will be an improvement to what was there before, a rundown house that was removed,” Shockley said.
Shockley said for years he and his family had several Nanticoke homes on a property in Whiton that they rented out. They decided to get out of the rental business, however, and have gradually been moving the homes off the land. Two homes, Shockley said, have already been moved. The most recent of those was taken to a lot in downtown Willards two years ago.
“That was a similar situation,” Shockley said.
He gave the board correspondence between the Town of Willards and himself.
“This is a reference letter indicating we’ve been through this process not once but twice before and we have a track record of doing what we say we’re going to do,” he said.
The home Shockley plans to move to Branch Street is a 1996 Nanticoke modular home. He said it would not need to be dismantled for the move.
“The width is such that it can be lifted onto a flatbed and taken down the road as one section,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be broken apart and put back together.”
He added that the home was in good condition and would undergo some improvements along with the move. He said he’d be putting in a new heat pump, adding insulation and installing new duct work.
Shockley said the home was equal to or better than most of those already on Branch Street. Board members asked if it would benefit the existing neighborhood.
“If anything it would help those [home] values go up,” Shockley replied.
Shockley was also asked if the truck carrying the house would be able to make the turn onto Branch Street off Route 113 without hitting the power lines there.
He said the movers thought they could navigate around the wires. Even if the wires do prove to be in the way, they can use poles to hold them up as the truck passes by.
“The movers believe there’s enough slack in the lines they can use poles and move them up,” he said. “They don’t anticipate problems.”
Shockley added that if for some reason the wires couldn’t be pushed up the roof of the house could actually be lowered as it was hinged.
“They did not have to do that with either of the previous moves,” he said.
Once the house is moved to Branch Street, Shockley plans to sell it. He said he’d have a Realtor do a market analysis to determine an appropriate price. He expects to lay the foundation at the property later this month.
“The house is ready to go,” he said, adding that he hoped to have the move done by the end of June.