A Macon County couple bought a doublewide and put it on property they bought last spring only to recently learn that mobile homes are not permitted in the neighborhood under the town’s zoning regulations. During a meeting of the Board of Adjustments on Feb. 14, it seemed this was not a case of someone trying to get around the rules, but rather a mistake based on the information they were given when purchasing the property.
“I don’t know that there was an intent to do anything in error; I think we have a real error here,” said Vice Chair Janet Green as the board reviewed the facts in the case. Green chaired the meeting in the absence of chairman Tom Harris.
Yolanda and Rigoberto Altamirano applied for a variance to the zoning regulations, stating they were told when they bought the property that a mobile home would be acceptable and that no one told them otherwise. In April 2021 they purchased land in Alpine Cottages off Bellview Road in Franklin. The original covenants for the development, adopted in 2004 for 50 years, state mobile homes are not allowed.
“Nobody told them about it,” said Melina Bonilla, who spoke on behalf of the Altamiranos at the meeting.
On April 29, 2021, an amendment to the covenants was filed stating that a mobile home could be placed on lots 1 and 2 combined and lots 3 and 4 combined. The Altamiranos purchased lots 3 and 4. The amendment was prepared by attorney Joe Collins’s office and signed by Alpine Cottages owners James and Julie Martin of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The Altamiranos’ deed was also dated April 29, and both were recorded in the Register of Deeds office on April 30.
The problem arose because the mobile home is in violation of town zoning laws. Although the property does not fall within the city limits, it is within the town’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, where zoning regulations apply. Mobile homes are allowed in areas zoned R-2, but the Alpine Cottages property is zoned R-1.
Two adjoining property owners, Amy Burton and Ted Blalock, attended the meeting to express their opposition to the mobile home in the community.
“We’re talking about the continuity of Alpine Cottages and the continuity of the area. There are no mobile homes and there are no trailers of any kind in that area,” Burton said. “I believe if we made this exception that it would not be a good thing to do because it’s not going to keep in harmony with Alpine Cottages, where I’ve lived for seven years.” She said the covenants pro-tecting the property were a selling point for her.
Burton said the realtor or the person the Altamiranos bought the land from should have let them know about the zoning laws. “When I purchased my home there, I was made aware of all these things.” She said she had to get permission to build a shed behind her home and it was built to blend in with the other structures.
Burton’s partner Joel Evans said about a year ago when the Altamiranos started clearing the land, he told them he did not think mobile homes were allowed and that they needed to double check.
Blalock said his wife owns a small house behind the Altamirano property. She could not attend the meeting and he spoke on her behalf. “She feels like the mobile home will depreciate her home,” he said.
Burton questioned how the covenants could be changed without the other property owners knowing about it. However, Section 16 of the covenants gives Martin the right to modify or amend the covenants without notification, until all the acreage in the development has been sold. Once all the acreage is sold, the covenants may be amended by owners of three-fourth of the lots. Martin still owns property in the development.
Town Planner Justin Setser said the board is responsible for upholding the zoning standards, not the deed or the covenants associated with the property. “That’s a civil matter,” he said.
“It looks to me like, these folks (the Altamiranos) are not at fault, and it looks like these folks (the other property owners) have a good argument,” said Board of Adjustment member Susie Ledford. “That puts us in a hard place.”
Green agreed, saying the Altamiranos bought the mobile home in good faith based on what they had been told when they bought the property, but the other property owners had an understanding that their property values would be protected through the neighborhood’s restrictive covenants and the town’s zoning laws.
“One of the reasons that we created the zoning ordinance was to allow property owners to be assured of the property value that would remain in place,” Green said. “To have the assurance that their properties will not decrease in value.”
Following a review of the facts, the Board of Adjustment did not grant the variance request.
After the meeting Bonilla said the couple would try to find somewhere else to place the mobile home or sell it and possibly build something in Alpine Cottages. The Altamiranos paid $34,000 for the two lots in Alpine Cottage in addition to the purchase of the mobile home, which Bonilla said was a 2021 model.
Setser said anyone purchasing property, considering building or making a change in how they use their property should check with his office to ensure the proposed use is allowed before investing money.
"When you do your due diligence, call us and make sure, we'll tell you what the zoning is and make sure whatever use you want is going to be compatible,” Setser said. “It will potentially cause a little less heartburn down the way when you've spent your money."