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Trustees order follow-up after reports of unsafe trailer‑park units, tighten zoning permit checks
Summary
Trustees discussed deteriorating conditions at a local trailer park, agreed to investigate jurisdiction and removal options, and heard a zoning office audit finding about 25 permits with errors; the board directed staff to tighten review procedures and pursue next steps.
Trustees at the Morgan Township Trustee meeting on June 10 heard concerns about deteriorating conditions at a local trailer park and approved steps to investigate who has jurisdiction and what remediation might cost.
Trustee Mr. Updike described multiple units with visible mold, collapsed or failing roofs and animals reported living inside vacant trailers. He said many lots appeared vacant and that residents and officials alike were uncertain whether the county or township has responsibility for remediation. “They got raccoons and different stuff living in some of them,” he said, summarizing what he saw on a site visit and noting that some trailers appeared uninhabitable.
Barry, the township zoning administrator, told trustees the office had contacted the board of health and would follow up with county contacts. He flagged the community development block grant (CDBG) as an example of past demolition funding but said available funding levels have changed. The board asked staff to document jurisdictional authority, estimate removal costs, and return with recommended next steps.
In a separate but related presentation, zoning staff reported an internal review that identified roughly 25 applications and permits with process errors or noncompliance. The administrator read a list of application numbers (MTZ/MLS/MT prefixes) and described new checks and balances: requiring multiple reviewers for larger splits, routing certain applications to the full commission, and tightening documentation so single-staff processing cannot yield final action without oversight. The chairman put on the record that prior board or commission decisions were taken based on the information provided to them and said the new procedures are intended to prevent future errors.
The trustees did not adopt a specific enforcement action at the meeting; instead they directed staff to gather additional information on jurisdiction, code remedies, and cleanup costs, and to return with options. The board also agreed to continue work on moratoria language for related zoning topics (bridge and data-center moratoria) and to follow up on pulled telecom tower proposals.
Next steps: zoning staff will report back with jurisdictional findings, cost estimates for removal or remediation, and recommended regulatory or enforcement options.
