The Baldwin City Council has approved the final plat for a development that will add 26 new senior housing units in the community.

The final plat for phase 6A of the Firetree subdivision was approved at the council’s Nov. 19 meeting. Plans call for the addition of 13 duplex units to a 5.2-acre site north of Ridge Lane and south of North 400 Road.

Jeff Hill, representing the developer Baldwin Land Company Inc., told the City Council in September that the developer received state tax credits for the project, which requires the 26 units be reserved for low- to moderate-income senior tenants. Rent would range from $575 to $775 per month, with electricity and trash covered as part of that cost, he said.

The new units will be similar to the duplexes at the south entry to Firetree, Hill said.

The project will require installation of a pond to address water runoff from the development, which was a concern neighbors had raised about the project.

The City Council also reviewed bids totaling $480,000 from RD Johnson Construction and Killough Construction to install the streets, sewers, sidewalks and other infrastructure improvements that are required before the proposed units can be built. The developer will pay for the installation of the infrastructure, and the work will be done under city oversight.

At the Nov. 19 meeting, the City Council also approved new regulations to improve fire safety in mobile home parks.

Some of the new requirements include:

• Interior roads in mobile home parks must be gravel or asphalt and at least 20 feet wide.

• Mobile homes must be spaced at least 15 feet apart.

• Storage sheds or other accessory buildings must be at least 10 feet from the nearest mobile home.

• Entry stairs may not extend more than 3 feet into the required 15-foot separation between mobile homes.

All new parks must be built to the new standards, and existing parks have until March 31, 2022, to come into compliance.

The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance despite critical comments from an attorney for Chad Oswald, the owner of two Baldwin City mobile home parks.

Scott Stockwell, Oswald’s attorney, said making existing mobile homes parks subject to the ordinance could invite litigation. He said the ordinance would also codify different regulations for different mobile home parks, because one of Oswald’s mobile home parks, at Baker and Third streets, had an existing agreement with the city that exempts it from the new rules. He said it would be better for the city to work with with owners of mobile home parks to develop a new set of regulations.