DECIDE MOBILE-HOME PERMITS ON MERITS OF EACH REQUEST

A debate is brewing in Cape Girardeau over whether or not mobile homes should be allowed in residential neighborhoods. Some feel if the quality is high, they should be allowed in neighborhoods just like any other homes. Others feel modular homes should be limited to mobile home parks.

In the past, the Cape Girardeau City Council has granted some special-use permits that allowed a mobile home in residential zones and turned others down. That's the way it should be. Each permit should be decided on a case-by-case basis.

No special-use permit need set a precedence. That's the whole idea behind special-use permits. Every time the city issues one of these permits, they are granting an exception to the rule, a new standard.

In some neighborhoods, the value and appearance of the mobile home would fit right in with neighboring houses. In others, it would not.

The city council should decide each special-use request -- including those for mobile homes -- on its own merits.