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Residents and landlords urge caution as Bolivar considers manufactured-housing rezoning
Summary
A rezoning request to expand an existing manufactured-home district prompted questions from planning and zoning staff and public concerns about property values, density and whether the existing park will be upgraded. The board deferred moving forward with one rezoning and heard two neighbors voice opposition.
The Bolivar Board of Aldermen heard a detailed discussion and public comment Dec. 16 over a proposal to expand a manufactured-housing district and a separate rezoning request for 209 South Clark.
City staff described a request to extend a Manufactured Housing District (MHD) west of the existing park on South Mooresville Road; staff said the MHD allows up to eight units per acre and estimated the rezoned area could support up to 32 units. Planning staff noted the request came with conditions and that existing code provisions would require certain improvements for new sections, including hard-surface roadway access and fencing where applicable.
Applicant Martin Tyler (speaker 8) said his intent was to renovate the existing park and develop new lots with the same standards. During council questions, Tyler said he preferred to complete phased improvements together to keep costs down and pass savings to tenants.
Nearby property owners told the board they were concerned about expansion. Abby Glendening (speaker 15), a landlord of duplexes adjacent to the park, said she and tenants expected the lot had been the only area zoned for manufactured homes and that expansion could reduce neighboring property values. "When my late husband and I purchased this property, we knew that it was the only plot of land in the city that was zoned for manufactured homes, and it would never expand," Glendening said. She described rent levels for nearby duplexes and said new trailer units renting for roughly $975 a month raised concerns among her tenants.
Justin Lahr (speaker 11), another nearby property owner, raised cost and maintenance concerns and said trailer units "cost about $55,000 a piece" and expressed worry about long-term maintenance and neighborhood impacts.
After discussion of access, infrastructure requirements and planning-and-zoning deliberations, the board indicated it would not move forward with Bill 2025-82 (the Mooresville rezoning). Separately, the board approved a rezoning at 209 South Clark (Bill 2025-83) by roll call.
The record shows aldermen weighed competing goals: expanding housing options and the potential for slightly lower-cost manufactured units versus neighborhood character, infrastructure requirements and ensuring existing mobile-home areas are upgraded if expansion is allowed. Staff said site plans and code requirements would govern specific improvements if any rezoning proceeds.
