By Jordan Studer
The Bucyrus Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) met on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 8, to discuss a special request made by Bucyrus Mobile Home Village (BMHV). BMHV, located at 25 Waterford Glen in Bucyrus, desired to rent vacant and unrented mobile home lots to tenants looking to temporarily place a recreational vehicle (RV) or camper on those lots.
This change would adjust the use of the property in the campground, which is not permitted within the Manufactured Home Residential Zoning District (MHRZD). Therefore, BMHV requested a Similar Use determination which would allow the campgrounds to be permitted to be used within the MHRZD.
Owners of BMHV, Dave Worshil and Dave Tucker, were present at the meeting along with their attorney Russell Long. It was explained that their idea had formed when workers on the construction crew for the Rover pipeline needed a place to park their RV’s temporarily.
Tucker explained that the stays of these RV’s would be intended to be “semi-permanent” stays of up to six months. He also explained that it is required that the designated RV lots must be separated from the permanent homes in the park. According to Tucker, this regulation is due to the fact that the Health Department states that mobile homes cannot be surrounded by RV’s.
As the lot plans were shown to BZA, Worshil explained that by using unused lots for RV’s a large financial asset would be added to their business.
“Our goal was not to make money to start with, but to improve what we bought. And that we have done so far, but there’s more to do. But we really need the help of trailers moving in. I mean that’s where our strength is at. If we don’t get those trailers, we don’t have the financial strength to do it (keep improving the park),” Worshil explained.
It was discussed that if BMHV was granted the Similar Use determination, they would be the only licensed place in that area affected. The only found issue with granting the Similar Use determination was that no amendments could be made to it.
This caused a roadblock for immediate action due to the concern of multiple BZA members, some city council members, and the Mayor regarding the longevity of the “semi-permanent” stay of the RV owners. Their concern was, if a specific time is not set for the amount of time an RV can remain in the park, there may be those who stretch out their stay too long.
After hearing all the details given, board member Floyd Farmer tried to make a motion to deny the request of Similar Use determination, but his motion failed. Farmer commented that although he understands the reason for the request, he didn’t feel he could agree to grant the request.
“I appreciate where these folks are coming from and I understand that they need to keep their cash flow coming. I feel like my responsibility is partially to protect the integrity of the neighborhoods and the community and look for forward progress, and I just don’t think this meets that standard,” Farmer said.
Another BZA member asked what the results would be if the board decided not to take action on the item that day. Zoning Administrator John Rostash explained that if nothing would be done, he felt he still must take action.
“I’m really on a bit of a horn’s dilemma here because on the one hand, I’m told by our code that all mobile homes or house trailers that are put up without a permanent foundation are supposed to be in a licensed mobile home park. Then I go to the license mobile home park in the district where it’s at and it’s not listed as a permitted use. Then the code says, if it’s not considered a permitted use, I’m supposed to consider it a prohibited use,” Rostash explained.
Rostash continued to explain that despite the fact the BMHV has a state license and already have people staying in RV’s on unused lots, they still have not had the approval of the BZA. This is considered a violation and a notice of violation is what stemmed the entire process to begin. Rostash commented that not doing anything would leave the BMHV still under violation.
Mayor Jeff Reser explained that he is fine with the idea, if regulations are added to keep the RV’s in a specific area as to not have open lots overtaken by RV’s permanently.
“I think we need to keep the campers in the designated area if that’s legally possible. If it’s not legally possible, I think we have to deny the request. That’s my opinion because we can’t have our town having campers on open lots,” Reser stated.
After a lengthy discussion, it was determined to send the matter back to council to be considered as a Conditional Use rather than a Similar Use determination. This would allow a time limit to be set on the length of stay allowed.
A motion was made and passed to send the matter to council to determine if it is an appropriate to be considered as a Conditional Use. The item was then tabled by the BZA until the matter could be further reviewed by Bucyrus City Council.
After the matter was tabled, a member of the community wanted to speak with council regarding the 80’s Throwback Cruise held the previous Saturday night. The woman who organized the event explained that the feedback was great and she would love to see it held one Saturday a month throughout the year, or just throughout the summer.
The BZA complimented her on a job well done and for her actions she was willing to take to get it approved. However, they explained that the matter would have to be taken to council, as it is not a matter the BZA can determine. She is set to appear at the August 15 council meeting.
The next BZA meeting will be held August 25 at 4 p.m.