To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mary Shaw, Zoning Manager
Title
Ordinance: Amending Section 17.02.010 and Repealing and Reenacting Chapter 17.26 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code Concerning the Manufactured Home District (Second Reading)
Body
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Executive Summary
The purpose of this memorandum is to seek Town Council approval for a code amendment to update terminology and regulations for the Town of Castle Rock Municipal Code Chapter 17.26 MH Mobile Home District.
This ordinance was approved as presented on first reading on May 19, 2015 with a vote of 7 to 0 with no changes.
Key Issue
Building permits submitted for manufactured homes are unable to be approved for zoning compliance because modern structures cannot meet outdated regulations.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
The proposed code amendment was presented for public hearing by the Planning Commission on April 23, 2015. The Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor to recommend approval to Town Council of the proposed code amendment.
Discussion
The term mobile home is used for factory built homes constructed prior to 1976. The average size of a single wide mobile home constructed prior to 1976 is twelve (12) feet wide and sixty (60) feet long. Congress approved changing the term mobile home to manufactured home in 1980, to define factory built homes constructed after 1976.
Manufactured homes built after 1976 are constructed to meet federal regulations for design, strength, construction, durability, transportability, fire resistance, and energy efficiency. Manufactured homes are built in single or double sections and range in size from up to twenty (20) feet wide and (90) feet long.
Town code adopted in 1971 for the MH Mobile Home District restricts the minimum required setbacks for principal structures to be located ten (10) feet from interior lot lines, thirty (30) feet from a lot line adjacent to a public right of way and fifteen (15) feet from exterior boundary of the mobile home park. The zoning regulations adopted in 1971 were established for mobile homes that were approximately
seven hundred twenty (720) square feet in size. Manufactured homes, constructed after 1976, can be eighteen hundred (1800) square feet in size and cannot meet minimum required setbacks adopted in 1971.
In addition to the requirement for mobile home or manufactured home primary structures to meet minimum required setbacks, on-site improvements such as garages, decks and porches must also meet local building and zoning code standards.
Staff Findings:
• Manufactured homes are restricted to be located in the MH Mobile Home District;
• Regulations for mobile homes, adopted in 1971, are not sufficient for manufactured homes, constructed after 1976;
• Town building code requires a minimum of five foot separation between manufactured home structures;
• The Town Cornerstones support a carefully planned community to accommodate the needs of existing and future residents;
• The Town Comprehensive Master Plan encourages a variety of housing types, to satisfy a wide range of needs.
Staff Recommendation
It is important for the Town to recognize the term mobile is no longer accurate to describe contemporary factory built homes and the applicable standards adopted in 1971 do not meet current needs for larger manufactured homes. Staff recommends that Council approve the proposed code amendment to revise the current term mobile home to the appropriate term manufactured home and reduce overall minimum required setbacks in the MH Mobile Home District.
Proposed Motion
I move to approve the ordinance repealing and re-enacting the Town of Castle Rock Municipal Code Chapter 17.26 MH Mobile Home District.
Attachments
Attachment A: Ordinance