RV Park Owners Voice Concerns; Zoning Code Decision Deferred

Two mobile home park owners spoke in front of the Cookeville Planning Commission Monday night about concerns over proposed zoning code changes related to RVs in mobile home parks.

The Commission studied the rules for several weeks before submitting the proposal to the Cookeville City Council. But the council voiced multiple concerns about the changes and sent them back. The planning department suggested additional rules including a 180-day occupancy limit. Spring Valley Mobile Home and RV Park Owner Rick Hall said that could impact travel nurses who see their original contract extended.

“You don’t want to hurt the people of Cookeville,” Hall said. “You don’t want to hurt your hospital, you don’t want to hurt the economy here. You pass this rule about six months, which I really don’t think you can do and I’m not the only one that thinks that, you’re just hurting Cookeville.”

Hall’s RV park has existed for over 60 years. Terence Meigs owns a park on Bunker Hill Road. He said he prefers renters to stay in his park for a year or more, six months minimum. Meigs said people are no longer using RVs as temporary travel vehicles but living in them as homes.

“This thing you’re trying to set, you won’t have just owners coming after you, you’re going to have those people living there because you’re messing with their livelihood,” Meigs said.

Additional language added to the code included recreational vehicles with underpinning, and the prohibition of pop-ups and folding trailers. Language was also changed on a rule that restricts the length and width of and RV.

Planning Commission members deferred a decision on the changes, wanting more information and time to deliberate.

The proposed rule changes are only for the existing mobile home parks across the city. They have all been grandfathered since they existed before the city began zoning.

In other business, the commission approved the six-month extension of the preliminary plat of Ansley Park, which includes 24 lots. The final plat of the Reserves at the Country Club phase seven was also approved. The plat includes 23 lots on Nelson Way.

The Planning Commission also approved phases one and two of the preliminary plats of Brookview with four and 12 lots respectively.