SENATE BILL REPORT

EHB 1227

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background: An ordinance enacted by cities, towns, code cities, and counties may not have the effect of discriminating against consumer decisions to locate or use a home, unless the ordinance is equally applicable to all homes. However, the law authorizes municipalities to require that manufactured homes be new, be set upon a permanent foundation, have concrete skirting, be thermally equivalent to the state energy code, meet all other requirements for a designated manufactured home, and comply with all local design standards within the neighborhood in which the home is located.

Local jurisdictions are allowed to place age and design criteria on manufactured housing only on housing sited in new manufactured/mobile home communities or on housing sited outside of manufactured/mobile home communities.

Summary of Bill: Except in certain cases, cities, towns, counties, and code cities are prohibited from adopting ordinances that restrict the entry or require the removal of recreational vehicles used as primary residences in manufactured/mobile home communities unless the recreational vehicle fails to comply with fire, safety, or other local ordinances or state laws related to recreational vehicles.

This prohibition does not apply to a local government that enacts an ordinance that does either of the following:

requires that utility hookups in manufactured/mobile home communities meet state and federal building code standards for these communities; or
requires a recreational vehicle to contain both an internal toilet and an internal shower. If this requirement is not met, the manufactured/mobile home community hosting the recreational vehicle must provide toilets and showers.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The incidence where an RV is someone's only home is rising in these economic times. This bill addresses older mobile home parks that accommodate the old-style single-wide homes that are no longer made. When they leave the park, that leaves a slab with nothing that can go onto it. This is an ideal place for an RV. The issue at its core is to prohibit local jurisdictions from banning RVs from mobile home parks. The city has the right to regulate for power and sanitary hook-ups if they are provided by the park or in the RVs. There will be 20,000 more people homeless who never before were homeless. This bill is helpful because RVs are often the home of last resort. Locating in parks is safer, and it is helpful to parks economically. The House amendment is appreciated. It makes sure that RVs that are not necessarily built as permanent homes, if in a park, have appropriate hookups. An RV is so much better than a tent. When Olympia evicted RVs from the street, churches hosted us in their parking lots. This was not ideal because when you take your car out to go to work, you can't park by your RV when you come home at night. RV parks are not feasible because they tend to be near scenic places, but far from work and school. The bill promotes a safe, affordable environment. Without the bill there can be outright discrimination against small homes.