A second mobile home community owner is suing the city of Arnold.
Ozark Mobile Home Park, 2464 Cedar Hill Lane, is suing the city’s Board of Adjustment, claiming the board illegally denied the owner’s request to replace three mobile homes.
The lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 22 in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, asks for the denial to be reversed; for occupancy permits to be issued for the homes; for the city to cover legal costs and court fees as allowed by law; and “for such other relief as is proper.”
Arnold city attorney Bob Sweeney said Jan. 18 that he would not comment about the lawsuit.
Mary Jo Shaney, a lawyer representing the Ozark Mobile Home Park, did not return a phone message asking for comment, and the park’s manager would not comment on the lawsuit.
The Jeffco Estates mobile home community, 654 Jeffco Blvd., already was suing Arnold over the city’s ordinances governing mobile home districts, claiming they are unconstitutional.
Jeffco Estates filed lawsuits against Arnold in the Jefferson County Circuit Court in September 2022 and in federal court in March 2023.
Ozark Mobile Home Park’s lawsuit also alleges the city’s provisions are unconstitutional.
The Ozark Mobile Home Park’s owner purchased it in February 2022, and in July 2023, the owner applied for home placement permits for eight mobile homes. The city’s senior planner denied the request stating the eight applications “will be archived due to the Ozark Manufactured Home Park … not holding a valid city occupancy permit,” according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims the park did not need a city occupancy permit because at the time it was purchased, the city code said the “owner of any structure” needed to secure a certificate of compliance, and Ozark Mobile Home Park was not the owner of the homes at the time of the transfer.
According to the suit, the city’s zoning officer said eight mobile homes violated restrictions on pad size and did not meet the required setback distances.
In August 2023, the park owner appealed the decision to City Administrator Bryan Richison, who said he was “disinclined to grant any relief,” the lawsuit says.
The park owner then filed an appeal with the Board of Adjustments, and in November, the board heard appeals for three of the mobile homes – those at 509 C St., 2493 Cedar Hill Lane and 2491 Birch Lane – and said the other five applications would be held in abeyance, according to the lawsuit.
The board denied permits for the three homes, preventing their installation at the Ozark Mobile Home park, the lawsuit says.
According to the lawsuit, the city changed its occupancy permit and inspection rules in January 2023, requiring inspections of mobile home parks, including the interior of all mobile homes in the parks, before permits could be issued.
The suit says the Ozark Mobile Home Park owner was not required to obtain the permits under those rules because before the change, only the owner or seller was required to obtain the permits.
The lawsuit says the board’s decision to deny the permits for three mobile homes is illegal because:
■ The three applications for home replacement permits do not seek expansions of a non-conforming use.
■ The three applications for home replacement permits do not violate setback provisions.
■ Requiring inspections of all park homes is an erroneous interpretation of the code, even assuming occupancy and inspection provisions apply. Among other things, Ozark Mobile Home Park does not own all the homes in the park.
■ The occupancy permit process did not apply to Ozark Mobile Home Park under the code provisions in place in February 2022 because the park is not a structure and Ozark Mobile Home Park was not the owner/seller of the park, even assuming occupancy and inspection provisions applied.
■ The Board of Adjustment’s interpretation of claimed applicable code provisions is erroneous.