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Cusseta–Chattahoochee commissioners deny permit to place manufactured home at 105 Mustang Dr.
Summary
After a public hearing with dozens of neighbors opposing the request, the board voted Dec. 3 to deny a Conditional Use Permit to replace a 1990 mobile home with a new manufactured home at 105 Mustang Dr.; commissioners said the county’s CUP policy may need revision.
The Unified Government of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County denied a Conditional Use Permit request Dec. 3 to place a manufactured home on a 1-acre lot at 105 Mustang Drive. On a motion by Commissioner Timothy Biddle and a second from Commissioner Gerald Douglas, the board voted unanimously to deny the Lopez family’s application.
Applicant Janet Lopez told commissioners she purchased the property to be near a son in the military and wants to replace what she described as a 1990 mobile home with black mold. “We are trying to update the current property and give more value to the land,” she said during the public hearing.
Neighbors attending the hearing urged denial. Resident Kitara Wilson said the neighborhood has long been developed with stick-built homes and warned that new manufactured homes would lower property values. Resident Matt McAdams cited the county zoning document—Appendix A.3, section 11—arguing the area is majority stick-built and that preowned manufactured homes ‘‘shall only be permitted’’ in certain cases. Several neighbors presented a petition with 44 signatures opposing the permit.
Commissioners acknowledged the competing concerns. Commissioner Jason Frost and Vice Chairman Timothy Biddle said the CUP process applies countywide and may need changes; County Attorney Bin Minter said any procedural revisions must follow statutory notice and hearing requirements. Chairman Charles Coffey noted the county previously removed a 5‑acre restriction and that the CUP process was established in part to allow property owners to use land that otherwise might be unmarketable.
The denial was procedural and final for this hearing; commissioners and several neighbors urged staff and the board to review the CUP rules and clarify standards that determine when manufactured homes may be permitted in zones with a predominance of stick‑built residences.
The commission recessed into an executive session later in the meeting to discuss legal matters and reconvened without reporting votes taken in closed session. The regular meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
