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,imm mi)k. · .-.-,,,,- Manufactured mmmmNm_mmmm mmmmm.nnij Housing Institute mlmmmmmlmmmm Raleigh, Norlh Carolina 27658.-8648 4911 Departure Drive Raleigh, No~h Carolina 27616-1849 919-872-2740 · Fax919-872-4826 August 7, 1997 Ms. Sue Casper Cabarms County Board of Commissioners 3011 Irish Potato Road Concord, NC 28025 Dear Madam Chairman: The North Carolina Manufactured Housing Institute (NCMHI) is a non-profit trade association representing retailers, manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, community owners and managers, developers, and service and supplier companies. Membership in the association totals more than 1400 companies. NCMHI promotes the ownership of manufactured homes and strives to develop high professional standards for those involved in the industry. Our members serving Cabarrus County have asked me to send you the enclosed information regarding their concerns on an upcoming issue. During the next Commissioners' meeting, you will consider changing the permit process for manufactured home communities from a permitted use to a conditional use, which would add a public hearing requirement. Our members in the area feel that adding a public hearing is unnecessary, discriminatory and redundant. Our members suggest that the Board of Commissioners table the recommendation in order to further consider the issue through a Citizen's Advisory Group or Task Force. The group, consisting of appointed industry representatives, citizens, and county representatives, can discuss the impact the proposed changes will have on the Board, the County staff, the manufactured housing industry, and the community. Please refer to the enclosed paper regarding our members' concerns with this issue. I have also enclosed the executive summary of a very recent study, commissioned by NCMHI and performed by East Carolina University, regarding the appreciation of manufactured homes and their effect on surrounding properties. In short, the study concluded that our homes appreciate at a comparable rate to site-built homes, and that our homes have no negative impact on properties in close proximity. If you have any questions regarding this study, or if you would like a copy of the full report, please call me at 1-800-849-6311. While attending last month's Planning and Zoning Board meeting, we learned also of the county's corisideration of convening a 3,181 acre area of the county from an agricultural/open zoning district to a Iow density residential zoning area. This proposed change would eliminate single section manufactured homes from the area, which places an unfair barrier to home ownership for many low and moderate income citizens of Cabarrus County. The members of our industry would welcome an opportunity to work with the County to find an alternative solution to "mass rezonings" which would exclude single section homes.