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Discussion of Manufactured Home Communities in Carrboro
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is for the Town Council to discuss manufactured home communities in Carrboro and consider the possibility of creating a regionally unified manufactured home strategy.
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DEPARTMENT: Housing and Community Services & Planning, Zoning, and Inspections
CONTACT INFORMATION: Rebecca Buzzard, Housing and Community Director, rbuzzard@townofcarrboro.org; Patricia McGuire, Planning, Zoning, and Inspections Director, pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org; Anne-Marie Vanaman, Management Specialist, amvanaman@townofcarrboro.org
INFORMATION: Manufactured home communities, which are an existing source of affordable housing for many, have become a County-wide topic of discussion in light of recent development pressures. The Town Council has requested an agenda item on this topic for discussion. To facilitate the discussion, staff has provided background and resource information.
Manufactured homes are factory-built, prefabricated homes built on a permanent chassis that adhere to HUD construction standards established in 1976. Prior to 1976, these homes were called "mobile homes" and the term is often still used today. Manufactured homes are not typically moved once they are placed on the home site, unlike "trailers" which are designed for travelling. According to a 2017 study by the Urban Institute, new manufactured homes are estimated to be 35-47% cheaper than site-built homes and have an annual appreciation rate of 3.4%.
On November 20, 2017, the Orange County Board of Commissioners received a presentation and recommendations from the Mobile Home Park Work Group. This group consisted of local government staff, for-profit developers, and non-profit housing staff and was formed to discuss and evaluate the opportunities and obstacles in redeveloping existing mobile home parks and developing new affordable housing to address the needs of mobile home park residents at risk. The...
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