By Lucy Parker

The Daily News

Though the lack of a quorum prevented the Washington Parish Planning Commission from taking any official action Tuesday, the board did continue its discussion of proposed changes to the part of the Comprehensive Development Ordinance dealing with manufactured homes.

Commissioner Scott Brumfield, a member of the committee tasked with researching the issue of bringing older manufactured homes into the parish, presented a new draft of the proposed amendments to Article III of the parish’s Comprehensive Development Ordinance.

“Some of you might recall, in the last draft of this I had manufactured/mobile homes,” he said. “Somebody said that mobile home is really not the term to be used to address this type of dwelling anymore, so I just reduced it back to manufactured homes.”

The proposed amendments, Brumfield said, still state that any manufactured home mover operating within the parish must acquire both an occupational license and a permit from the parish prior to moving any homes. Additionally, no Type 1, 2 or 3 home more than 25 years old, effective Jan. 1, 2013, can be brought into the parish, according to the proposed amendments.

Another amendment would allow the owners of Type 2 or 3 manufactured homes brought up to compatibility standards to approve or deny the moving of another manufactured home within 210 feet of their property line. The owners of site-built homes have this right under the existing regulations, Brumfield said.

“The intent of this language is to provide equal protection to both manufactured and stick-built homes,” Chairman Levi Lewis said.

The committee, Brumfield said, will have a meeting prior to the Planning Commission’s November building to add language clarifying how a manufactured home owner would achieve capability standards.

Additionally, Public Works Director Leo Lucchesi said he would research the issue of people using Graceland portable storage buildings as dwellings or commercial structures and if those buildings are constructed up to International Building Code, as a discussion of that arose during the meeting. Lucchesi asked that the issue be added as an agenda item for the next meeting.

An agenda item concerning a problem with animal waste stockpiling on Woodward Road could not be discussed, because the commission did not have a quorum and because the citizen who wished to bring up the issue was not present.

The Planning Commission’s next meeting is set for Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the Parish Council Chambers of parish courthouse.Commission discusses proposed amendments