Commissioners approve variance to replace manufactured home at 118 Circle Drive

The Liberty County Board of Commissioners approved a variance allowing a reduction in required setbacks for a manufactured home at 118 Circle Drive in unincorporated Liberty County.

Planning staff said the lot sits in FEMA flood zone AE and noted an unusual right-of-way width that causes the standard manufactured-home setback requirements to be unduly restrictive on this parcel. The application sought to reduce the front-yard setback from 20 feet to 12 feet and the rear-yard setback from 15 feet to 12 feet. Planning staff concluded the requested variance satisfies the county’s variance criteria because the lot geometry and the widened right-of-way burden the property and the replacement unit would sit farther from the public road than the current older unit.

Applicant Gary Getty told the board he planned to replace a 1970s mobile home with a modern 48-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath manufactured home that would be more accessible for family members with special needs. He said an elevation survey shows the proposed unit would be set lower over ground and would not require the very high piers some newer units need in other sites in the county.

The Liberty County Planning Commission had recommended approval with standard conditions. A commissioner who visited the site said the new home would be “an improvement” and moved to accept the LCPC recommendation; the motion passed on a show-of-hands vote during the public hearing.

The board approved the variance; staff will process the replacement permit under the county’s inspections and floodplain regulations.