From Habitat for Humanity Prince William County:
“FIFTY-NINE volunteer spots were filled by 39 volunteers over four days last week to help residents of Marumsco Mobile Home Park comply with zoning regulations by a mid-December deadline. We’ll learn by the end of the week whether we were 100% successful at keeping the residents from receiving criminal citations (and we think we were)!We will return to the community this Friday to do demo work that is needed at one home that was in the midst of zoning approval. And we’ll return again after Christmas to build sheds outside of the flood plain. Please sign up to help or to bring lunch for the volunteers!Take a look at the slide show to see the volunteers at work last week. Sign up to volunteer after Christmas on our Volunteer Calendar. We’re planning for 12/22, 12/29, 12/30, 1/4, 1/5, and 1/6.We’ve raised the funds to buy 12 sheds but have now received approval to build 22. Can you help us get there? Our new goal to purchase 10 more sheds is $3,000!”
A concerned citizen notified officials in the Prince William County zoning office that they felt there were building violations in the Marumsco Mobile Home Park. Because the County had received a complaint, they were obligated to investigate. In the end, the County levied 39 citations in the community of 45 homes. The violations were ones that had occurred primarily out of necessity…structures were added over the years that made the residents living arrangements more suitable to their family size or provided storage for the tools of their livelihoods. However, in many cases the structures were added after the flood plain was designated. And they were not allowable in the flood plain.
Families facing criminal charges
The County had to issue citations for the removal of the structures. Most of the violations were taken care of by the home owner’s themselves but a few residents needed help. Others are just at a loss for what to do as the additional space is vitally needed to make living in the community justifiable. Yet, anyone who hadn’t abated the violations by mid-December faced potential criminal violations with up to $2,500 in fines per occurrence or even possibly jail time
The response came about because (Woodbridge Distirct Supervisor) Frank Prinicipi pulled together several groups including us, Grace Lutheran Church, the Woodbridge Workers Committee, VOICE, residents of the community and government officials.
The result was that Habitat led the volunteer groups and many members of the faith community, a contingent from the 45+ Social and Active Meetup Group, employees from the Peterson Companies, regular Habitat volunteers, new volunteers and residents worked over the four days. It was sad to have to do the work but the responders were compassionate and hard-working.
