MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — According to the county, there are about 5,000 people in Baldwin County who live in a in mobile homes, but that number could increase after a change in an ordinance.
Baldwin County manager Carlos Tobar says the current mobile homes ordinance is very specific when it comes to where the homes can be located.
"If the majority of the mobile homes are 51 percent or more and you cannot see a site built house, then you can place a mobile home," he says.
He says an amendment to the county ordinance would allow people with three or more acres of land to put a mobile home there and also allow current home owners to upgrade to a newer mobile home.
"The public has reached out to the commissioners and asked for this change, so I drafted the language and we'll see how they vote," says Tobar.
Melinda Ingram of Sinclair Oconee Homes was at the public hearing. She says she's in favor of the proposed amendment.
"People are shocked when they come into the lot and see what they are getting price per square foot and the amenities that are in these homes that they can't get in a site built home," she says.
Ingram says the moratorium the county put in place back in 2019 and the wording of the current ordinance has since caused them to lose customers and money.
"We may have lost like$200,000 while all this is going on. Nobody wants to put their money down on something that is not sure," she says.
She says she hopes the commission thinks of the entire community before casting their final votes.
"We're here to provide affordable housing for families in Baldwin County and every other county in Georgia," says Ingram.
The commission could vote on the amendment during a called special meeting or the next commission meeting.