Over 450 families in Orange County are still needing assistance to get their homes and their lives back to where they were prior to Tropical Storm Harvey. Many people have moved back into their residences in the sixteen months since Harvey devastated this area.
There are a significant number of families that are living in temporary housing units provided by FEMA. Orange County Emergency Management Coordinator Joel Ardoin supplied the figure of close to 350 FEMA trailers are being used in the county. Ardoin added, “Most of them are in the areas hardest hit by Harvey in the west end of the county near Vidor and in the north around the Mauriceville area.”
Next month will represent an important time for those using the government provided housing units. Ardoin indicated in February the Texas General Land Office (GLO) will begin charging rent for the trailers and mobile homes. The GLO has stated it will charge a fair market value for the trailer rentals, but Ardoin said he did not know the exact amount they will charge.
Ardoin assured citizens that they will have the opportunity to purchase the temporary housing unit where they are currently dwelling. Municipalities which have some zoning requirements could restrict the location of trailers and mobile homes in certain parts of their city limits. In the unincorporated areas of the county, Ardoin reminded, there are no zoning requirements and the Commissioners Court has approved the trailers to be allowed in those areas.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
Social Media