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Commission urges board to explore allowing manufactured-home sales outside RP, with acreage and standards
Summary
After a staff presentation on a petition from Patriot Homes, the commission recommended the board explore adding manufactured/modular-home display and sales to county code outside the Rural Preservation district, with development standards covering acreage, display, and permitted services.
The Caroline County Planning Commission voted March 26 to forward a recommendation to the board of supervisors to explore adding retail sales of manufactured and modular homes to the county code, generally outside the Rural Preservation (RP) district and subject to development standards on acreage and display.
Brad Robinson, the county's zoning administrator, described a petition from Patriot Homes seeking to classify "new manufactured and modular homes display, sales and service" as a use by right in the B1 (business) district. Robinson said staff would support enumerating the use as by right only if appropriate development standards (for example, limits on storage, display layout and screening) were inserted into the ordinance before any by-right allowance was granted.
Commissioners questioned the size of the applicant's site (Robinson: the Caroline site under consideration is about 3–4 acres) and compared it to examples shown in the packet, including regional dealer sites that measure roughly 25 acres. Commissioners said a small lot may not allow enough on-site display to be useful to residents and discussed whether the county should adopt a narrow use limited to manufactured-home sales or a broader use category that could include other specialized-vehicle sales and rentals. Several commissioners expressed the preference to exclude RP and to require minimum acreage or display standards.
The commission voted to recommend that the board consider allowing manufactured-home sales in appropriate non-RP districts, with limitations on acreage and display to be set by staff and the commission if the board directs a text amendment. Robinson said the specific language, permitted services (for example, sales and rentals versus repair/service), and development standards would be drafted for later public hearings if the board approves proceeding.
