Where can a modular be placed in Chaffee County?

By Chris McGinnis

Manufactured homes vary in size, design and price.

Where a person can place such a home in Chaffee County also varies.

It is in your best interest to ask first, before you buy a piece of land, whether or not a modular can be placed there.

The following is a general guideline of where modulars can and cannot be placed.

Unincorporated county areas

A manufactured (modular) home can be placed where not restricted by subdivision or other covenants in unincorporated areas of Chaffee County.

City of Salida

In the City of Salida, a Universal Building Code (UBC) manufactured home can be placed on any lot.

A Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or mobile home may only be placed in areas zoned as R4, C1, C2, or I1, administrator Pat Brooks said.

Town of Buena Vista

The Town of Buena Vista has no restrictions on modular placement, town administrator Devon Volk said.

However, some areas of town have their own covenants, which do restrict modular placement, he said.

Town of Poncha Springs

The Town of Poncha Springs allows modular placement on any lot in town, as long as the home fits minimum square footage requirements for the zone in which the modular is to be placed, namely being 26 feet wide or more.

The majority of modular homes are being placed in the ER2 and ER3 zones at the Rio Poco and Poncha Village subdivisions, town administrator Laurie Dannemiller said.

 

County building codes define a manufactured home or modular as a dwelling which:

* Is partially or entirely manufactured in a factory.

* Is not less than 24 feet wide and 36 feet long.

* Is installed on and engineered, permanent foundation.

* Has brick, wood or cosmetically equivalent exterior siding and a pitched roof.

* Is certified pursuant to the "National Manufactured Construction and Safety Act of 1974.

A mobile home, by comparison is defined in Chaffee County as:

* A structure, usually factory built, designed as a single family housing unit, and transported after fabrication.

* Such a structure is built on a chassis and retains the chassis on which it was built, whether or not it is placed on a permanent foundation.

* Suitable for human habitation on a year-round basis when provided with the required plumbing, heating and electrical facilities.

* Mobile homes do not meet the standard of 'trailers" as defined in county codes.