Residents urge Harriman council to block additional modular homes; council cites state law limits

Residents in a historic Harriman neighborhood pressed the City Council on Tuesday over a recently placed modular (double-wide) home on lot 417 and apparent plans to place additional manufactured dwellings on nearby lots.

“My name is Sarah Sals and I reside at 316 Walden Avenue,” said Sarah Sals, who told council members the parcel directly behind her property was cleared, the forested buffer removed and a trailer set in place. She asked for written confirmation of the lot’s zoning classification, subdivision status and permit compliance and requested that the city prevent placement of a second dwelling on the parcel until compliance is verified.

The mayor and other council members told residents the parcel is zoned R1 and that R1 does not permit more than one dwelling unit on a parcel without subdivision approval. The mayor said no formal subdivision application had been filed for lot 417 and that, to add a second dwelling, the owner would need approvals from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), the planning commission and ultimately the city council.

Neighbor Spencer Anderson said the first modular home arrived last October and described concerns that additional modulars will lower property values. Jordan Marino, another resident, reviewed the municipal zoning definition for "mobile home" and asked why the structure was not being treated as a mobile home under the ordinance.

Council members and staff repeatedly told residents that recent state law changes treat many modular or double-wide homes as single-family dwellings, which limits municipalities’ ability to ban them outright. Council also identified local options that remain available, such as setback and lot-size requirements, foundation and appearance standards, or strengthening historic-district protections.

Council asked city staff and the city attorney to pull all permits for lot 417 and circulate them to council members and residents. The mayor said attorneys had been engaged to research legal strategies, and staff committed to report back with permit records and findings. Residents asked whether the city attorney could issue a cease-and-desist letter if a second trailer were placed without approvals; council said it would do so if an enforceable violation occurred.

The council and speakers also discussed scale and origin of the activity; residents said a company has been purchasing multiple lots (one speaker said “30 something” lots) and sourcing units from out of state. Council members encouraged neighbors to organize (petitions, town halls) and pledged to pursue both immediate enforcement steps and longer-term ordinance or charter changes through the legislature if needed.

Next steps: city staff will pull and circulate permit documents to council and the requesting residents; the city attorney will research local regulatory options and potential legislative remedies. The council did not adopt any new local restriction at the meeting.