Sussex council defers action on sheds

The definition of a shed was just one topic during a Tuesday, Jan. 27 public hearing, when Sussex County Council grappled with a possible amendment to its accessory-building ordinance.

The changes would allow some manufactured homeowners to replace nonconforming sheds without a variance if the shed measures less than 120 square feet and occupies the same footprint.

As simple as that process may appear, it has become mired in the complexity of issues facing manufactured homeowners. The council did not take action and recommended to County Administrator David Baker he set up a meeting with members of the Delaware Manufactured homeowners Association (DMHOA) to study the ordinance.

The county’s planning and zoning commission recommended approval of the changes in the ordinance, but the board of adjustment, which deals with variances, wants all sheds to conform to county code or be subject to the variance process.

The debate started when manufactured homeowners in Sea Air Village near Rehoboth Beach complained about the cost of replacing old, nonconforming sheds. The variance application fee is $400. A building permit is also necessary, which requires a survey costing $400 to $600.

Lawrence Lank, director of planning and zoning, said the amendments were proposed to ease the cost burden. Many of the regulations date back to when county code was adopted in the early 1970s.

Councilman Sam Wilson, R-Georgetown, said he wouldn’t bother to replace a shed if he had to play as much as $1,000 to replace it. “I would keep the old shed there, patch it up and it would become a piece of junk,” he said. “People are not going to replace their sheds – they will go that route.”

Jerry “Doc” Simpler of Laurel, who lives in a manufactured home, said the council should not put regulations into place that discourage the replacement of sheds. “It seems in the 1970s, they were shooting from the hip,” he said. “This is a new time and a new day. It’s not a trailer park and not a mobile home.”

Councilman George Cole said although cost is an issue, it also comes down to fairness. “People don’t like regulations, but it’s not fair that one type of housing needs a permit and another doesn’t,” he said.

He said if the issue is cost, that needs to be addressed, but all sheds need permits and need to conform to county regulations.

He said if the amendments are passed, the nonconforming shed could force someone on a neighboring lot to seek a variance to place a home because of lack of adequate setback space.

“This could put a hardship on someone else,” he said.

Vehicle or house?

The most recent public hearing drifted all over the spectrum of manufactured home issues. Consider the comments of Ed Speraw, DMHOA president. “I had a problem with a lot of this from the jump,” he said.

He questioned why manufactured homeowners needed a building permit and survey in the first place.

He said, under state law, manufactured homes are considered mobile homes and must be registered as vehicles with the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

“My car is registered with DMV and when my car is repaired I don’t need a building permit,” he said.

He said manufactured homeowners lease the land they live on. “Would a survey be my expense on your property?” he asked.

In any case, he said, a law passed in 2002 requires all manufactured home park owners to have surveys and designated lot lines, although some still do not comply. The county has been in the process of forcing park owners to submit detailed surveys of parks.

“And this is the only county in the USA where you pay for the front footage that goes in front of your motor vehicle,” he added. “A lot of the laws are out of date.”

He said there are setback violations throughout parks all over the county.

“I can show you where mobiles have been placed from 9 inches to 5 feet off the property line,” he said.

County code requires a minimum 10-foot setback from the lot line and a 20-foot setback between structures.

Jeanne Sisk, who testified that she was in favor of the amended ordinance during the planning and zoning public hearing, has since changed her mind. She said she was now against it, and supports no regulations on accessory buildings in manufactured home parks.

Sisk, who has been hit with a violation for a nonconforming shed in Sea Air Village, said she faces eviction because of the violation. But, she said, she will not get a building permit or variance as required by county code.

“Every shed in the mobile home park is in violation,” she said.

Councilwoman Joan Deaver, D-Rehoboth Beach, agreed with manufactured homeowner Roberta Hemrich, who asked the council to table the matter. “You need to come up with something reasonable for everyone concerned so we won’t be back here in two to three months,” she said.

Deaver said she could not make a decision based on the information given during the public hearing.