A modular home may built in a Hermitage neighborhood despite neighbors' attempts to keep it out.

A building permit appeal filed Nov. 15 by Dennis L. Proctor of 105 Greenwood Drive with the support of about 30 neighbors was denied Jan. 8 by the Hermitage Zoning Hearing Board. Proctor filed the appeal after complaining publicly to city commissioners in October. The board held a hearing on the matter in December.

The home in question is a four-bedroom, two-section modular building.

Though Proctor previously said a modular home is the same as a mobile home and he was worried that putting it on the Greenwood Drive lot would lower the values of neighborhood homes, he said Thursday that is no longer the case.

"This isn't an issue about the trailer. It's like someone who wears a size 12 shoe trying to fit into a size 9 shoe," he said, adding that he doesn't agree with the appeal's denial because its wording does not conform with city zoning ordinances.

In the appeal, Proctor and some neighbors were concerned about the way the modular home would fit on the 145-by-50-foot lot. Plans call for the home to be centered lengthwise on the lot, 8 feet away from the closest neighbor's yard in the back.

"We're concerned with how it was authorized to be put on that lot and it didn't meet the standards and ordinances of the lot size," Proctor said, adding that the modular wouldn't fit the continuity of the neighborhood.

In their rejection of the appeal, the zoning board said, "while it may be unusual relative to the other homes in the neighborhood, for the owners to place their home with the narrow side oriented to the street, it does not violate the zoning ordinance."

Proctor and his neighbors were also concerned about water runoff from the lot. The board responded, "the subject property is not located in an established floodplain district."

Proctor said he is concerned that the board did not rule within the zoning guidelines. "This had nothing to do with a trailer or doublewide going in," he said. "I have met the family who wants to build there and they seem like very good people and I would be proud to have them as neighbors. But ... how the building permit got approved for the home to be built there is what I'm questioning."

Brad and Cheryl Cardinal of Mercer, who bought the lot Oct. 16 from Richard Yarian of Mercer for $6,500, must wait before beginning construction, since there is a 30-day appeal period of the zoning board's decision.

Proctor said he thinks someone will appeal the decision to Mercer County Common Pleas Court, but he won't.