Bryan steps up enforcement of mobile home park regulations

The Bryan City Council and staff toured their city's mobile home parks in 2010 and found people living in houses with jury-rigged electrical wiring, boarded-up windows and bashed-in doors.

Since then, they have embarked on a multi-year effort to remove those problem homes. And city officials say an extensive inspection and code enforcement effort has helped clean up the 37 parks in the city.

"It is an effort that many, many different departments in the city have made to ensure that things that people drive and places they live are safe," said Kevin Russell, director of development services.

In all, 117 mobile or manufactured homes had their utilities cut off for safety reasons. Fourteen were ordered demolished. Homes in 22 of the city's parks -- about 60 percent -- were affected.

The city didn't need to adopt any new laws or codes, Russell said. Instead, it began to enforce an ordinance adopted in 1976 that regulated the parks. It also stepped up enforcement of codes that apply to all buildings in the city.

Employees from the fire marshal's office, building services, code enforcement, planning, solid waste, environmental services and water and wastewater chipped in on the effort.

"They are looking at the structures to make sure that they are habitable," Russell said.

Now, city officials say, the parks are safer.

Russell said most mobile home park owners supported increased enforcement. Many had homes in their parks that were abandoned that they couldn't remove and welcomed the city's help.

"Like everyone else, they wanted to make sure that what they are doing is in compliance and they want to make sure they have a safe product," Russell said.

Two people representing local parks did complain to the City Council on Tuesday that the city is charging too much money to pay for the effort. When the increased enforcement began in 2010, the council also implemented a $500 mobile home park fee, plus $10 for each lot on the park.

The park owners immediately fought the increase, saying that the fee was inequitable. A person who owned a two-lot park would have to pay about $260 per home, while a park with 350 homes would pay about $16 for each lot, they complained.

The fee implementation was halted while the city reviewed it. On Tuesday, the council voted to remove the $500 base cost, while keeping the $10 charge for each lot. That change went into effect immediately.

Some park owners complained that the cost was still too high and would be passed on to the renters. The city responded that, if true, the renter would have to pay less than a dollar more per month.

"It's a matter of health and safety," said Councilman Mike Southerland, explaining the city's need to step in. "We need to make sure that we have enough rules in place and that we make sure we enforce them."