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Council adds optional permanent-foundation standard for mobile-home parks after safety debate
Summary
The council adopted Ordinance 4248 to add an optional G4 standard that allows manufactured homes set on engineered permanent foundations (helical or concrete piers meeting HUD standards) as an alternative to a FEMA standard storm shelter. Industry representatives said the anchors meet HUD tie-down specs; some council members expressed safety concerns for tenants in parks and emphasized emergency-management follow-up.
The North Plat City Council on April 7 adopted Ordinance 4248, which adds an optional design criterion (G4) to Section 156.144 allowing manufactured homes in RM mobile-home parks to be placed on engineered permanent foundations (helical or concrete piers) that meet HUD standards as an alternative to providing a FEMA-standard storm shelter.
Planning staff framed the change as adding an option rather than removing the existing storm-shelter requirement. Mike Marorrow of Chief Industries (an industry representative who identified himself to the council) described permanent-foundation approaches, including helical anchors and concrete piers tied to the home’s frame and footings. Marorrow said the systems are designed to meet HUD-engineered lateral and vertical tie-down standards and to provide comparable structural performance to slab-on-grade homes.
Council discussion focused on tenant safety in mobile-home parks versus owner-occupied homes, enforceability and maintenance of park shelters, FEMA guidance and whether the city should require storm shelters for large parks. Several council members said they favored retaining storm-shelter requirements for park tenants; others said the HUD-standard permanent foundations represent a modern, safer manufactured-home alternative and that peer cities use similar options. Staff noted two existing parks in North Plat have shelters, but many do not; the council debated the practicality and cost of building and maintaining communal shelters in larger parks.
After testimony, the council voted to pass the ordinance amendment adding G4 as a permitted option; the change does not remove the existing shelter requirement where a park owner prefers that route. Council asked staff to monitor implementation, enforcement and any grant opportunities for shelter construction and to consider emergency-management implications if new parks are sited in different parts of town.
