Title: An act relating to siting new mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities.

Brief Description: Siting new mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities.

Sponsors: Senator McCaslin.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Consumer Protection & Housing: 2/01/08.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION & HOUSING

Staff: Alison Mendiola (786-7483)

Background: In 1990 the Legislature passed the Growth Management Act (GMA). The GMA requires all cities and some counties to do some planning. A county, including cities within the county, is required to fully plan under the GMA based on population thresholds or population growth. Counties not required to fully plan, may opt-in. Twenty-nine counties are fully planning under the GMA, which accounts for approximately 95 percent of the state's population.

Jurisdictions planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA) must adopt internally consistent comprehensive land use plans (comprehensive plans) which must include certain elements, including land use, housing, and transportation elements.

A county fully planning under the GMA must designate urban growth areas (UGAs) or areas within which urban growth must be encouraged and outside of which growth can only occur if it is not urban in nature. However, the GMA does permit certain development activity outside of UGAs in fully planning counties, and such activity may be considered an amendment to the jurisdiction's comprehensive plan.

Among the developments permitted outside of the UGAs, but which have infrastructure/facilities needs and other characteristics which are urban in nature, include the following: 1) fully contained communities; 2) industrial land parks; and 3) master planned resorts. The GMA contains extensive planning requirements governing the creation of these categories of development so as to minimize their impact on the rural environment.

Counties fully planning under the GMA must also include a rural element within their comprehensive plans. The rural element must specify provisions for lands not designated for urban growth, agriculture, forest or mineral resources.

Summary of Bill: GMA counties, located in eastern Washington, may establish, in consultation with cities, a process for authorizing the siting of new mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities (park) outside of UGAs. A county considering an application for such sitings may approve the siting if the following criteria are met:
1)   The proposed site is adjacent to or in close proximity to a UGA;
2)   Affordable housing will be provided within the park for a range of income levels;
3)   Appropriate infrastructure and services for the site are available or have been provided for;
4)   Environmental protection issues for the site, including air and water quality issues, have been provided for;
5)   Development regulations have been established to ensure that urban growth will not occur in adjacent nonurban areas;
6)   Provisions to mitigate adverse impacts on designated agricultural lands, forest lands, and mineral resources have been made; and
7)   The siting of the park does not conflict with the development regulations adopted by the county to protect critical areas.

Final approval by a county of an application to site a park outside of a UGA does not constitute an adopted amendment to the county's comprehensive plan.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: There is such a problem with park closures that this bill seems to fit a need, although there are currently more closures on the west side of the Cascades. Currently, people have to demolish their perfectly good homes because there is nowhere to move them. The pressure of growth within UGA leads to park closures, displacing low-income households. This bill is a minor change to the GMA, and it still includes the protections of the GMA.

CON: While the bill provides for appropriate infrastructure, there are increased costs regarding sewer and roads that are not addressed when a non-urban area increases density, which is a cause for concern.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Kim Herman, Washington State Housing Finance Commission; John Woodring, Manufactured Housing Communities of Washington.

CON: Leonard Bauer, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.