County passes order for mobile homes

Published 10:53 am Thursday, May 7, 2020

Effective this week, the Panola County Board of Supervisors has taken another step in its attempt to clean up debris that litters private property throughout the county.

Abandoned mobile homes are the target of the board’s latest effort. The resolution passed Monday at the board’s regular meeting says no more than one unoccupied mobile home is allowed per tract of land in the county.

The supervisors said no property is grandfathered in, and land owners are expected to begin making plans to remove any trailer house that violates the measure. Supervisors defined mobile homes that would be in violation as any structure that does not have active utilities and is not being repaired for future use.

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The goal is to have landowners remove mobile homes that are either in such a state of disrepair that they cannot be rehabilitated, or are too old to be approved for habitation by the county’s land use office. The county already has an ordinance that limits the number of abandoned cars, defined as any vehicle without a current tag or unable to move in its current condition, although there are no records of anyone ever being ticketed or fined for violating that policy.

The supervisors did not specify how the law will be enforced, but did set a penalty of a fine of up to $1,500 for each violation. The board is expected to revisit the policy as landowners are informed of the resolution and asked to begin clean-up projects.