Commission denies Conditional Use Permit for manufactured home at 105 Mustang Drive

The Unified Government of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County denied a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a manufactured home at 105 Mustang Drive after a public hearing and formal motion during its Dec. 3 meeting.

Janet Lopez, the applicant, told the commission she bought the 1-acre lot to be near family and to support a household that includes "a teenager and a newborn." Neighbors said the street is predominantly stick-built housing and presented petitions opposing placement of a new manufactured home on a lot they said would be suitable for a conventional house. "Nothing against the family, but I thought the ordinance stated my neighborhood would be stick built homes…not mobile homes," said resident Kitara Wilson.

Planning and zoning had recommended consideration of the CUP; several neighbors said most existing manufactured homes in the area were grandfathered under an earlier five-acre rule and argued that new manufactured homes would lower property values. Resident Matt McAdams handed the commission a copy of the county ordinance and said he did not see how the CUP met the conditional-use criteria.

Commissioner Timothy Biddle moved to deny the permit; Commissioner Gerald Douglas seconded the motion. The commission voted unanimously to deny the CUP. Chairman Charles Coffey noted the record included "44 signatures against this" and said the CUP process has at times created neighborhood divisions. Coffey and other commissioners suggested the county revisit the conditional-use process to clarify how the ordinance should apply countywide.

The denial was a formal, final action on the permit request at the Dec. 3 meeting. The commission did not adopt an alternative approval or direct staff to develop an exception; future applicants will need to follow the established CUP process and any ordinance changes the commission may adopt through a separate rulemaking process.