Macon Times

County of Monroe issued the following announcement on Apr. 7. 

Monroe County Commissioners revealed on Tuesday, April 5 the final results of their month-long online Housing Ordinance Enforcement Survey.

Monroe County Public Information Officer Richard Dumas said there were 879 total voters in the online survey, which was available on the county’s website from March 1-31. Dumas said the county was notified on Monday by the Middle Georgia Regional Commission (MGRC), which oversaw the survey, that some computer IP addresses were used multiple times, which could indicate that some voters may have participated more than once. As a result, Dumas said 136 votes needed further review. After reviewing those 136 votes on Wednesday, he determined that although some duplicate ballots were found, they did not meaningfully alter the results of the survey. He noted that vote results remained consistent throughout the voting period and did not indicate widespread fraud.

Here are the results of the Housing Ordinance Enforcement Survey:

• Do you live in what you consider to be a highly populated location (subdivision, residential neighborhood)?

Yes – 424 (48.51%), No – 450 (51.49%)

• What do you consider blight? Blight refers to physical objects that have a detrimental effect on neighbors or the county at-large. Check all that apply:

Visible Large Amounts of Trash – 796 (91.92%), Abandoned Boarded-Up Houses or Mobile Homes – 731 (84.41%), Visible Hoarding – 678 (78.29%), Visible Junk Cars – 625 (72.17%), Visible Construction Debris – 473 (54.62%), Overgrown Yards – 470 (54.27%), Visible RVs Being Used as a Residence – 281 (32.45%), Visible Storage Containers – 281 (32.45%), Other – 112 (12.93%)

• The Monroe County government is responsible for the safety, health and welfare of its citizens. In your opinion, is blight impactful to these three things and should be addressed by the county government?

Yes – 670 (76.92%), No – 201 (23.08%)

• With regard to RVs, current county law states that they cannot be used as permanent residences other than as a temporary residence through a permitted process while building a home. One cannot legally reside in an RV on his/her own land regardless of acreage or regardless of whether or not the RV is hooked up to a well or septic system. One cannot stay in an RV park beyond 30 days without physically moving the RV to another location. Having read and understood these factors, should the current law be maintained as is?

Yes – 284 (32.46%), No – 591 (67.54%)

• Should the current law on RVs be modified to allow indefinite time for residence in conforming RV parks with approved septic?

Yes – 655 (75.03%), No – 218 (24.97%)

• Should the current law on RVs be modified to allow placement of and residence within a single RV on an agriculturally zoned tract (3 acres or more) with approved septic?

Yes – 650 (74.29%), No – 225 (25.71%)

• Should the current law on RVs be modified to allow for existing documented hardship cases (related to financial, medical, temporary employment, etc.) for residence for a maximum period of one year in RVs with approved septic?

Yes – 680 (78.16%), No – 190 (21.84%)

• Should the current law on RVs be modified to allow a single RV to be used as an accessory residence for an immediate family member on an agriculturally zoned tract (3 acres or more) with approved septic?

Yes – 648 (74.06%), No – 227 (25.94%)

• Should the current law on RVs be modified to allow a single RV to be used as an accessory residence for rental purposes on an agriculturally zoned tract (3 acres or more) with approved septic?

Yes – 378 (43.25%), No – 496 (56.75%)

• Should the current law on RVs be abolished altogether and RVs be allowed anywhere as a permanent residence? This means the health department will still have to permit for adequate septic systems but there will be no record for who is living in an RV making it difficult for the health department to know what is being inspected. This means while an RV can be considered a second home and receive federal tax advantage, very few cities, counties, school systems or states view an RV as a permanent dwelling. Allowing this law to be abolished would put Monroe County at a disadvantage with regard to services we enjoy and pay for versus other counties. School systems regard children living in RVs as homeless, so other property owners would still pay for those RV dwellers’ schooling. RV dwellers would also have the same use of road, recreation, fire, EMS, and sheriff’s office services that other property owners have at the cost of the other property owners. With Monroe County’s central location with multiple interstates and close proximity to Atlanta and Macon, this could create the perfect environment for an influx of RVs since many neighboring counties enacted legislation against permanent RV living. By their nature, RVs have a shorter useful lifespan than a stick-built home, and owners could be less likely to invest money in fixing or refurbishing them once they become dilapidated than they would a stick-built home, potentially in an increase in abandoned RVs. This means Monroe County could see a large population increase, potentially increasing local sales tax revenue as well as greater community diversity. An increase in RV residents could have a positive effect on Monroe County’s shortage of low-income housing opportunities. This means an additional investment opportunity for RV owners to collect rent income with minimal investment. Having read and understood these factors, should the current law on RVs be abolished altogether and RVs be allowed anywhere as a permanent residence?

Yes – 321 (36.60%), No – 556 (63.40%)

• Do you have any additional comments on how the county should move forward with enforcement of or amendments to its RV policy?

Answered – 458 (of those 458, 56 wrote “No” or “N/A”), Skipped – 421

Of the 879 total votes cast, 333 (37.88%) of them were received within the first two days of the survey being available online on March 1-2. A second spike in votes occurred on March 10-11 after District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland and a Monroe County citizen, Bronwen Morgan, were interviewed by Macon TV station 13WMAZ about the survey. A total of 191 votes (21.72%) were received during that two-day span following the 13WMAZ story.

Commissioner Eddie Rowland thanked Monroe County citizens who participated in the survey and said the survey revealed citizens have polarized opinions on the usage of RVs as residences.

Having listened to the survey results, District 3 Commissioner John Ambrose then motioned to establish a moratorium on housing evictions, including RV residents, until Commissioners have made revisions to their existing housing ordinance. Commissioners previously voted on Feb. 15 to issue warning citations to landlords and tenants in violation of the county’s existing housing requirements, which includes those living in RVs. The warning citations gave landlords and tenants 90 days to comply with regulations or face penalties, which could include fines or jail times. District 4 Commissioner George Emami then seconded Commissioner Ambrose’s motion for further discussion.

County Attorney Ben Vaughn said Commissioners have about 40 days remaining before evictions are scheduled to take place and said that should be adequate time for Commissioners to revise their ordinance. Commission Chairman Greg Tapley also pushed back on Commissioner Ambrose’s request for a moratorium, saying a shorter timeframe gives Commissioners more incentive to find an adequate solution quickly. Commissioner Ambrose then withdrew his motion for a moratorium.

However, Vaughn said there are some unsanitary or unsafe conditions created by housing ordinance violations, such as an instance in which sewage was draining into a nearby river. He told County Code Enforcement Officer Dep. Jeff Wilson that he is to continue enforcing those types of infractions even prior to changes to the county’s housing ordinance.

After about 25 minutes of discussion, Commissioners took no action on the housing ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Original source can be found here.