Report finds lax enforcement of state law on storm shelters

Published 7:45 am Wednesday, August 9, 2017

ST. PAUL — A report says a Minnesota law that requires mobile home parks to offer storm shelters or evacuation plans for residents in case severe weather strikes is rarely enforced.

Minnesota requires mobile home parks built after 1988 to have adequate storm shelters. And older parks must have evacuation plans, approved by their local governments, for residents to seek shelter off-site from severe weather.

Despite the law, KSTP-TV reports, people living in many Minnesota mobile home parks often have nowhere to hide.

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The station reviewed thousands of pages of inspection reports. It found at least 60 violations relating to storm shelters and evacuation plans.

Steven Diaz, who is in charge of the more than 60 mobile home park inspectors in Minnesota, says penalizing park owners could force families from their homes.