The Selma town council passed an ordinance in 2004 saying that mobile home parks could have only four homes per acre. Owners had five years - until April 2009 - to comply.

But the council voted this month to let mobile home parks that don't meet that standard stay in business, as long as they go through new inspections.

Under the amended ordinance, owners must meet certain appearance standards when they replace mobile homes. The replacement home can't be more than ten years old. And the town can ask for improvements.

"We're not going to ask them to do anything which is not reasonable or proportionate to what they are trying to do," said Planning Director Ryan Simons. "If they are just replacing one mobile home, we're obviously not going to make them repave all their streets or anything like that. We might ask them to install a parking space."

But owners are concerned that the changes will add up.

"They have no limits to their inspections, on what they can come out and say for you to fix before they give you a permit," said Steven Wade Braswell, who owns Selma Mobile Home Park on Highway 301. Braswell says he is speaking with other owners about taking the town to court.

Planning Director Simmons said, "Is it more expensive to install a ten year old mobile home as opposed to a twenty year old mobile home? Yes, it probably is. But were the previous ordinance in effect, they wouldn't be able to replace it period."

The amended ordinance went into effect immediately. It affects just mobile home parks, not individual mobile home owners.

Selma has five mobile home parks. Each one has between fifteen and forty homes.