Much of Gonzales’ Code of Ordinances is outdated, other parts make little sense even after an update corresponding to the 2015 adoption of a Comprehensive Growth Plan. It made sense to tinker with Zoning provisions to accommodate an already changing city, but follow up to eliminate codal inconsistencies remains on the to-do list. And then there is legislation that no one currently employed by the City of Gonzales can explain, justify or defend.
Excerpt from Budget Message, Ordinance #3087, adopted on April 25, 2016:
Retiree Medicare Stipends
The City of Gonzales has traditionally paid all medically covered retirees, upon reaching the age of 65, a $200 per month stipend to help offset the cost of health services past the age of 65. This has proven to be a costly benefit to the city, exceeding $50,000 per year. In an effort to further control benefit spending, we are recommending ending this benefit at the end of 2016. All covered retirees currently receiving the benefit on December 31, 2016, or having attained the age of 65 by December 31, 2016, will be grandfathered-in to the program and allowed to receive the benefit. Any retirees turning 65 after December 31, 2016 will not be eligible for this program.
A few dozen former employees receive the benefit, with a handful more (including former mayor Barney Arceneaux) slated for addition at the end of May. Hundreds of former employees (and every current employee) will never be eligible for the benefit which has “proven to be costly” but never considered for elimination…until tonight that is.
“It is hard for me to understand, much less support, any benefit that is not made available to every employee,” Mayor Tim Riley said over the weekend. “Specifically tailoring the benefit to accommodate a single employee while ignoring so many others, which is how the 2016 ordinance was explained to me, well…seems unfair and totally arbitrary.”
Speaking of arbitrary, Section 22-7(b) defines Manufactured and Mobile homes.
Manufactured home. A factory-built structure constructed after June 15, 1976, and under the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 5403 on an integral chassis and designed for residential occupancy when connected to the required utilities. For the purposes of this zoning code, a manufactured home is a single-family home.
Each manufactured home must meet the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety standards and must display a seal certifying that it was built in accordance with the standards and must have been built within the last ten (10) years. The homeowner must provide proof of age of the home before the permit may be issued and before the home may be moved into the City of Gonzales. All manufactured homes must be found, upon city inspection, to be safe and fit for occupancy.
Mobile home. A factory-built home on an integral chassis that is:
(1) Built before June 15, 1976; and
(2) Not built to a uniform construction code.
A mobile home is designed to be transported for installation or assembly at the building site.
Unsurprisingly, multiple owners of what the city deems “manufactured homes” which happen to be older than ten years, are challenging the Building Department’s enforcement of the ordinance. Those owners offer the following counter-arguments:
- Enforcement of the language above leads to an absurd consequence. It makes no sense when any “manufactured home” built between 1976 and 2015 is automatically rejected but any “mobile home” built prior to mid-1976 faces no such restriction.
- Arbitrary: Why 10 years old? What is the expected, useful lifespan of manufactured homes?
- Divestiture of Property Rights: Zoning categories should dictate what is allowed, what is not with permitting requirements enforced with inspections ensure the city’s interests, fellow residents protected.
Mayor Riley pointed out that the “our inspection department assures that any manufactured home, one year old or 20, is ‘safe and fit for occupancy.’ Setting a cap of ten years does seem arbitrary, especially when the owner takes such good care of the unit like the folks we’ve gotten to know.”
Amendment of the subject ordinance(s) requires three votes from the City Council.
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