Hello Fellow Ohioans!

 

I am from Southeastern Ohio, in the rural county of Monroe, and I am on the council of a town with a population of roughly 400. My fellow council members and I have been dealing with an issue for some time now, and I'm wondering if any of you may have some more insight.

 

Early in 2011 my town of Clarington, Ohio, saw heavy rains and the possibility of flooding was a fear among many. One resident moved his home/trailer away, as he lived in the flood plane. The resident was told that if he were to move his trailer, he would be unable to place it back in the original space due to new FEMA laws and regulations.

 

Here we are in the summer of 2012 and the man still has his trailer parked on the township road behind the now vacant property (in the middle of town), but ownership of the trailer has changed several times in the last year and a half.

 

Clarington does have ordinances involving dilapidated trailers/mobile homes, but I'm not sure off the top of my head of the wordings. Our mayor and city manager fear the cost involved in storing this trailer if the town is able to seize ownership (which is highly unlikely).

 

I know this is a complex situation, but I'm just trying to gain some insight from others throughout Ohio.. Maybe you have experienced something similar? How was it handled, how was the town/city able to remove the dilapidated car or building? Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

Most of us are not very familiar with rural issues, being that this is the Urban Ohio forum. It would seem to me the best recourse is to start issuing fines to the owner, according to the laws of which you spoke. Rather than costing the township money, this would potentially raise revenue, assuming the fines are paid.

 

If the fines go unpaid and/or the trailer is still not removed after citations are issued, I would think you could follow proceedings similar to an illegally parked car. Have it hauled to an impound lot and if the owner doesn't pay to get it back, eventually I guess it gets sent to the junkyard.

 

If the laws are unclear, I suggest consulting a lawyer. As a councilmember, it would seem you have some power to enact laws to help you deal with the situation in the manner you see fit, if the current laws are unsatisfactory.

To start, I would consult the Monroe County prosecutor if I were you.

Thanks for the information! I understand that this being an urban Ohio forum that most would not be familiar with the inner workings of rural Ohio towns, but I'm nearly at my wits end with this trailer.. so I figured I'd give a shot at asking you all.

 

It would be extremely beneficial to have a rural Ohio forum for us country folk to talk about issues and what not, but I couldn't find anything online in that regards.

 

Thanks again,

cewjane86

Welcome to UO, my name is Gordon Pfalzgraf Crites. My mother's side of the family is from Round Bottom which is a Clarington address and spent a considerable amount of weekends and vacations in the area during my youth. While I don't have any specific knowledge regarding this type of situation, the fact that it is currently located in a public right-of-way, is not hooked up to any utilities and is has no claim of ownership or rental on the space it occupies leads me to believe that it may be merely cargo and not a dwelling at this time. But I'll second natininja's suggestion of speaking with an attorney since I sure am not one.

 

If you've got time, poke around a bit in the photo sections. We do celebrate Ohio's small towns on this site and I know there's a Woodsfield photo thread on here. Many of us grew up in these small towns and rural areas and still have personal connections in them.

Thanks for visiting the forum!  I too recommend consulting the County Prosecutor.

Even though this site is called "UrbanOhio," it's really for all Ohioans, city-dwellers and rural folk.  Your question is in the appropriate section and welcome!

Welcome to the forum!

 

You didn't mention how much the trailer is worth, but if it realy is dilapidated and not worth much, it may be easier to simply buy it from the current owner and scrap it. The purchase price may be close to the scrap value. Or, contact a scrap dealer and see if he is interested in talking with the owner.