Despite urging from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs
to protect modular home manufacturing, Gainesville city officials
turn their backs
By Karen Pressley
profitablewords@msn.com
GAINESVILLE, GA – The CEO of Building Systems Network,
Grant Smereczynsky, has been understandably referred to lately
as a “rebel with a cause” by his growing number
of supporters for his efforts to exercise protection provided
by Georgia state law for modular home builders.
While BSN’s CEO is trying to level the playing field
for on-site builders and modular home builders, he is coming
up against discriminatory rulings which have resulted in one
option: Smereczynsky is down to fighting City Hall. It seems
BSN has been ruffling the feathers of certain Gainesville
officials by attempting to remove prohibitions and arbitraries
on zoning ordinances that continue to stop BSN from building
modular homes in certain residential areas occupied by site-built
homes.
Meetings with City officials recently have not yet resulted
in retraction of the March 31, 2005 revocation of permits
for construction of two BSN modular homes in an R1 zoning
district. Yet, Georgia law and rulings from the Georgia Department
of Community Affairs prohibit local governments from restricting
an industrialized building from a zoning district based solely
on the fact that it is not built “on site.”
State Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community
Affairs Mike Beatty addressed Gainesville Mayor George Wangemann
in a letter dated March 31, 2005 about this point, in response
to the City’s revoking of two of BSN’s permits.
Commissioner Beatty stated that industrialized housing (modular
homes) enjoys non-discriminatory siting protection under Georgia
law and DCA rulings that “manufactured”
housing (also known as mobile home construction) does
not. Commissioner Beatty also stated that while the right
of zoning and site development is reserved to local governments
to apply the DCA’s regulations, “they must be
reasonably and uniformly applied and enforced without distinction
as to whether such building is manufactured offsite or built
onsite in a conventional manner (DCA emphasis added.)”
The Commissioner advised Mayor Wangemann that “the
City of Gainesville may be taking action inconsistent with
Georgia law and our Department’s Rules related to the
siting of industrialized buildings” and strongly recommended
the City reconsider its position.
BSN encountered a similar issue in 2003. Commissioner Laura
Meadows of the DCA issued a letter on January 14, 2003 describing
the Industrialized Buildings Act (O.C.G.A. 8-2-2 Part 1) that
requires industrialized or modular buildings to be built to
the standards and adopted by the DCA for the state of Georgia.
Buildings bearing the DCA insignia (approved by meeting state
codes) must be allowed to be constructed. She said, “Therefore,
construction of Industrialized buildings is substantially
the same as a ‘site built’ building.”
Despite the Georgia law and DCA rulings prohibiting discrimination
against modular home building, Gainesville City officials
have opted to ignore those statutes and instead, enforce local
zoning ordinances that stop BSN from finishing their two systems-built
homes. The City’s prohibition violates the Uniformity
Clause, Article III, Section IV, paragraph V (a) of the Georgia
Constitution of 1983.
Smereczynsky has challenged the City’s discrimination
against modular homes by appealing their rulings to a higher
legal authority.
The value of modular homes is even recognized
at a federal level. After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in
1992, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported,
“Relatively minimal structural damage was noted in modular
housing developments. The module-to-module combination of
the units appears to have provided an inherently rigid system
that performed much better than conventional residential framing.”
This full report can be obtained from FEMA by calling 800-480-2520
and requesting publication number FIA-22, item 3-0180.
Smereczynsky is an award-winning modular homes builder, honored
with three first-place awards in the national Building Systems
Council 2003 Excellence in Marketing & Model Home Design
Awards for his commitment and contributions to the systems-built
industry. He said, “The biggest challenge posing my
industry is lack of public education in the evolution of home
construction technology.” The industrialized or modular
built home is different from what it is perceived to be by
those who are not yet informed. “Innovative construction
technologies have emerged faster than public education about
them and zoning modifications to accommodate them.”
In addition, incorrect language in local zoning ordinances
fails to distinguish a modular (industrialized or systems-built)
home from a manufactured home (mobile home). This has caused
confusions in rulings, despite the fact that Georgia law and
the DCA have provided clear language on these subjects.
“People who choose to block modular home building are
simply uninformed about the process itself,” he said.
“Not only are modular homes built to the same building
codes as traditional site-built housing, but they are required
to bear the DCA insignia for adherence to codes and quality
standards. They are constructed from the same materials, and
they are built under superior quality control with over 300
inspections done during the construction process.” And,
they are built in a controlled environment, not subject to
adverse weather conditions like site-built homes. There is
reduced waste in materials, and these cost savings are forwarded
to the homeowner. “Homeowners enjoy superior benefits
from systems-built homes, including equivalent or greater
appraisal value,” Smereczynsky said.
In late January, 2006 BSN’s newest luxury, 6,800 square
foot model home, “The Homestead,” was set on its
foundation in Hall County by Professional Building Systems,
one of BSN’s foremost construction facilities. The Homestead
is appraised at $695,000. Smereczynsky invites officials and
the community to observe the completion process (interior
and exterior finishings) as part of his efforts to educate
the public on modular home construction technology and trends.
For more information about Georgia modular homes, or for
directions to the Homestead, go to the web site at www.bsnhomes.com
or email them at bsnbuilder@bsnmail.com.
Smereczynsky invites you to call BSN for further information
at 770-888-2761.
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