NATCHEZ — The location of two mobile homes behind the North Gate Shopping Center in Natchez has left one citizen wondering about the legality of the trailers’ presence.

Natchez resident Bill Ray said he has tried to place a mobile home in the city since he moved to town, and something needs to be done about the two mobile homes currently in place.

“When I first got to town, I went and checked with the permit office and they said I was not going to be able to place a trailer on my property,” he said. “I tried a lot of options, and I could not get permission.”

City Planner Robert Nix said in Natchez there are currently three districts in which a person can put a mobile home on their property without questions asked, district R-5, R-6 and R-1.

The two mobile homes in question are in district B-4.

Nix said people may place mobile homes in districts other than R-5, R-6 and R-1, but they first must meet the qualifications designated by the city before placing a mobile home on the property.

First, the mobile home must be placed in an area where there is another trailer in an adjacent lot or there must be at least three mobile homes within 300 feet of the area, Nix said.

Nix also said the trailer must be at least a double-wide in size and before moving in, the mobile home owner must have the approval of more than half of the property owners and renters within a 300 foot radius of the trailer area.

Nix said that the older of the two trailers in B-4 is currently legal in the city limits because it arrived before the new zoning laws were put in place.

“The permits for it were issued in 2007, and it was placed there after it received the permits,” he said. “The new codes were issued in January of 2008.”

As to the issue of the second trailer on the property, Nix said permits were never received before the trailer was placed.

“This one was issued with no permits in advance,” he said. “And they are aware they placed it without permits.”

Nix said even though the trailer was placed illegally, the owners of the trailer do have the right to apply for regulatory relief, a process that allows the mobile home owner to either request a text amendment change in the codes, or to rezone the property entirely.

“(The owners of the trailer) have applied for a text amendment change. We are processing it,” he said. “It will first go to the planning commission, and if it passes, it will go to the aldermen for the final decision.”

Nix said the current owners of the North Gate Shopping Center are asking for a text change to have the trailer remain where it is, so that a full-time security guard can live in the trailer and be at the site to deal with any emergency.

“They want the text change amendment to allow the mobile home as an accessory used for an existing business, for the purpose of having 24-hour security on the property,” he said.

Nix said Natchez has dealt with mobile home issues in the past, and that the issue is being handled the same as other cases.

“We recently had a person request a text amendment that passed,” he said. “We withheld enforcement action, and the code amendment was adopted. He was assisted through this process.”

Ray said due to his problems, and the reports of complaints from residents of the neighborhood where the two trailers are located, he is looking to start a petition for the removal of the two mobile homes.

“I am leaning hard to do it,” he said.