Projects

Policy re Manufactured & Mobile Home Park Preservation

Application/Permit Number: Z1400065COMP

Description

This project is a 2014/2015 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Cycle Application. The proposed amendment to Chapter 3, Land Use, of the City's Comprehensive Plan would add a policy related to preserving existing mobile and manufactured home parks:

LU 1.X Mobile Home Parks

Designate appropriate areas for the preservation of mobile and manufactured home parks.

Discussion: Manufactured and/or Mobile Home Parks provide affordable housing to many City residents. In many cases, they provide the opportunity of home ownership to households which cannot afford to purchase other types of housing. When existing manufactured home parks are redeveloped, many homeowners are unable to move their homes to other sites. Additionally, redeveloped mobile and manufactured home parks are generally not replaced by new parks within the City, resulting in a net loss of this type of housing.

Background

The Spokane City Council adopted a Resolution in 2014 requesting an amendment to the City's Comprehensive Plan to establish a Manufactured Home Park Zone for preserving existing mobile and manufactured home parks. As a first step toward defining the City's policy, the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Application was submitted to add policy text to the Comprehensive Plan. This application is limited to adding the proposed policy text to the Comprehensive Plan and does not affect any particular property.

In the spring and summer of 2015, the Spokane City Plan Commission held public workshops and an open house, and some members formed a subcommittee to meet with stakeholders to discuss the proposal. Following a public hearing on September 23, 2015, the Plan Commission recommended denying the amendment, and further recommended that it should conduct a housing review program by the Plan Commission next year.

In November 2015, the City Council held a public hearing and adopted the ordinance, which was subsequently vetoed by Mayor David Condon on November 16, 2015. The Mayor cited several reasons for the veto. On the same day the Mayor filed this veto, the City Council voted 5-1 to override the Mayor’s veto and enacted the ordinance at its meeting.