AG 1997 09 15 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Issue: Upon the recommendation of the Planning Board, the Board of Commissioners will consider changing the permit process for manufactured home communities from a pemfitted use to a conditional use. Adds a public hearing requirement to the process of obtaining a park permit. Our Position: Ifa manufactured home community meets the strict standards set forth in the existing ordinance, a public hearing is unnecessary, discriminatory, and redundant-- the public can be assured that the park will benefit the county by providing quality, affordable housing for tax paying citizens. The proposed change is discriminatory. The requirements for manufactured home communities should be the same as for site-built home subdivisions. A public hearing is not required for a site-built developn/ent, and a manufactured home community should not be treated differently simply because the homes are built in a factory and transported to the home site.. The proposed change is repetitious and time consuming. If a manufactured home park meets the requirements set forth in the zoning law, the public hearing process is repetitive, as well as time consuming for the Board of Commissioners, the County planning staff, and for the developer. The standards for mobile home parks were established to protect the interests of the community, and the manufactured housing industry agrees to abide by those standards. If the standards do not serve their intended purpose, we suggest that the County seek ways to improve and enforce the standards, rather than adding a repetitious public hearing process. The members of the manufactured housing industry in Cabarrus County would gladly assist the County in finding fair and equitable ways to update those standards. Studies show manufa~:tured homes do not affect surrounding properties. A study completed last month by East Carolina University con£n-med earlier findings by Harvard University and concluded that manufactured homes do not affect the overall appreciation rate of site-built homes in close proximity. The study also concluded that "a manufactured home with fixed foundation or listed as real property, be it on scattered lots or in clustered communities, appreciated at compatible or comparable rates as site-built residential properties.., and in some cases appreciated at a higher rate.''~ Our Suggestion: The members of our industry encourage the Commissioners to table the issue in order to further study the impact the proposed change will have on the industry, County officials, County staff, and the community. We suggest that a Citizen's Task Force be appointed, with representatives from the manufactured housing industry, the community and the county to discuss the options available and to report their findings to the County Commissioners. aShen, Guoqiang and Stephenson, Richard A. June 30, 1997. "The Impact of Manufactured Housing on Adjacent Site-Built Residential Properties in North Carolina," East Carolina University, Department of Planning and School of Industry and Technology, p. 20.