BISBEE — The idea was to create low-cost housing for people on a limited income by allowing someone with a low income to move or bring in a pre-1976 mobile home.

According to county building inspector Luis Ruiz, the program is fraught with problems and in the end just adds to the cost of moving in. A survey to gather information from such homeowners found a number of weaknesses in the inspection and permit process.

At a recent work session with the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, Ruiz and acting Planning and Zoning Department Director Susan Buchan presented the findings of a study of these 30-plus-year-old mobile homes.

Ruiz found licensed trade contractors moving these mobile homes did not perform safety tests on the buildings before they were moved, whether from within the county or state or from outside Arizona. People moved into the homes and then went to the county to get building permits. Unfortunately, the people buying these inexpensive homes were not aware of the costs to bring them into compliance with county codes.

Such homes have safety issues due to age and the materials used in construction at that time, Buchan said. Owners may have to spend $6,500 to $15,000 more for required improvements to electrical wiring or gas lines on top of the homes’ cost, moving and setups.

“The intent of the program was to provide affordable housing to the citizens of Cochise County while limiting the waste generated from the demolition of these units. This intent has not been proven to be correct,” Ruiz said.

There were 18 rehabilitation permits issued in the county and all have had problems meeting the code requirements due to costs. Only eight of the owners have complied with codes and have received the certificate of occupancy after an inspection. Six permits have expired without completion of the rehabilitation needed to resolve life-safety issues, Ruiz said. Two others are nearing the expiration date of the permit.

“Five permits have expired and have yet to call for the required inspection to determine if the unit is free from immediate deficiencies,” Ruiz said. “These units are being occupied in the majority of cases, creating a potential hazard to property and life. The inspections on these structures have not been favorable with a 38-percent pass rate.”

Permit holders are given six months to make the repairs, but sometimes a longer period of time is granted, Buchan said.

“It’s most disturbing that they are not completing the work,” Buchan added.

With other counties and some cities like Sierra Vista looking for ways to get rid of them, Jim Vlahovich, deputy county administrator, worries that the county could become a dumping ground for these homes.

Mike Ortega, county administrator, said, “It gives residents a false sense of safe living quarters, when they are actually to expensive to repair.”

So, should the county drop the program and outlaw the hazardous homes?

As Buchan pointed out, these structures were not built to last 30 years, and each year, they get older and more dangerous. But how do you move people out of such homes when they have nowhere else to live?

The fire safety issues are the most frightening,” Buchan added. “It takes just seven minutes for a fire to destroy a mobile home.”

Supervisor Pat Call witnessed a mobile home fire and saw how fast a home can be engulfed by fire.Board of Supervisors chairwoman Ann English said, “We shouldn’t support this as a low-cost option if the rehabilitation is too expensive. We need to take the blinders off.”

Supervisor Richard Searle said he understood the concern of county staff but did not want to take away a housing choice from low-income residents.

If they were banned from the county, what are people to do with the homes they live in or let lie vacant on private property?

That’s a problem yet to be resolved. The county has no recycling program for old trailers, but that has been on Buchan’s mind. There are metals and plastics that could be recycled.

There may also be asbestos in these older mobile homes. Its removal requires special handling.

There was a suggestion to donate the homes to an organization that moves them to Mexico for housing for the homeless. Fire departments also burn them for training in live-fire conditions.

English was in support of eliminating the program altogether and recycling the old trailers with tear-down done by inmate labor.

Call said, “I’m wary of spending tax dollars on the disposal of these units. We’ll end up with mobile homes from other counties, and we’ll be subsidizing them, too.”

The county staff and supervisors will meet again in the future to discuss the matter.