WARSAW, Va. -- A disabled veteran who served nine years in the Marine Corps says she was excited about coming home to a place where her family has deep roots to build a new home.
But Tiffany Hackett never imagined the uproar it would cause. She says the county approved her permits, then town leaders forced her to make changes.
Hackett says all she and her three children want is to walk through the front door of their new home on Lee Ave in Warsaw.
While Hackett has a building permit approved for a modular home, she says things took a stressful turn as soon as neighbors saw the building going up.
"I think they had an issue with how the house was delivered. A modular home is built off site, so they thought a mobile home was being put here" Hackett explained.
She told The CBS 6 Problem Solvers after her permit was approved, several Green Acres neighbors took concerns to town leaders.
Shortly after that she says she was forced to make changes to the front and back of the home, adding thousands more to the cost.
"It has been stressful because when I thought things were going good, then we are getting pushed back. Our closing date changed because of last minute changes" Hackett said.
The CBS 6 Problem Solvers reached out to Warsaw Town Manger Joseph Quesenberry. He explained one change was due to Hackett's contractor placing the home too close to the rear property line for her deck to be installed.
He also says the materials she planned to use on the front porch were not in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood in terms of architectural design.
Hackett said there is no HOA or guideline requiring her home to look like the others.
"If they had a problem with it, it should have been handled beforehand" Hackett said.
The CBS 6 Problem Solvers tried to speak with some neighbors about their concerns. Off camera some said they wished town leaders would have told them more about what type of home was going up.
They also said they would like to see an ordinance requiring all houses share the same architectural design in that area.
Neighbors said they attended a meeting with town reps to find out more - a meeting Hacket wasn’t privy to, which she believes creates tension.
When asked about the meeting, Quesenberry said town staff scheduled an information session with two property owners to discuss the difference between a modular and mobile home.
He added "These owners on their own free will disseminated this information to the neighborhood and it was then attended by eleven community members. The purpose of the session was to be an open and transparent government and to work with our residents on understanding the permitting process and differences between modular and mobile homes, which was the ultimate concern among area residents."
Quesenberry added that county building officials joined him to answer any building related questions that may have come up referencing State Building Code.
He told The CBS 6 Problem Solvers that no notices were given as this was meant to be an engagement session to answer questions regarding local code with the two property owners. Without prior knowledge, they had a larger turnout than expected, Quesenberry added.
He said that was not an official public meeting. The Town Manager also pointed out that at this time, no permits have been revoked. He said they have had numerous meeting with Hackett that always ended in a positive fashion.
"Her home is well on its way to being completed and open for her family. Again, we are very pleased to welcome a new family to our beautiful town and we look forward to our continued partnership with each and every new resident to the Town of Warsaw.
Hackett said the changes cost her an additional five thousand dollars. She wants her story to prompt town and county leaders to review their permit policies.
She hopes to close on her home a few days before Christmas.
