Madras Planning Commission members used part of a March work session on the housing action plan update to focus on manufactured housing and mobile-home parks, asking staff to examine code changes that would make new manufactured-dwelling communities safer and more viable while addressing existing substandard conditions.

Why it matters: Several commissioners and staff described lengthy, recurring code-enforcement concerns at one of the city's manufactured-home parks and urged the city to reconcile state and city standards while considering changes that could make new park construction or manufactured-home placement more feasible.

What was said and proposed
- Park conditions and enforcement: City staff described repeated code violations at Tops Trailer Park (a large manufactured-dwelling park in Madras) including structural, electrical and mold issues in older units. Staff said enforcement options are limited by vested-rights case law and the practical limits of imposing costly upgrades on owners and residents. In the meeting staff said that in one recent case an owner paid more than $6,000 in moving costs to rehouse a resident whose unit was uninhabitable because of mold.
- Zoning and use distinctions: Staff noted that RV parks are treated as commercial uses in Madras' code and that manufactured-dwelling parks are subject to specific park standards; they recommended a targeted code amendment to the city's manufactured-dwelling-park standards to clarify lot sizes, utilities and spacing requirements.
- Barriers to new park development: Commissioners and consultants discussed three recurring barriers: limited available production of factory-built homes (supply and lead times have lengthened since 2020), lender reluctance to underwrite mortgages for homes placed in leased-plot park settings (loans are more available for homes on owned land), and site-specific constraints (zoning, topography, and utility configurations).
- Possible policy responses: EcoNorthwest and staff suggested several options the commission could consider in the housing action plan update: refine park standards to reduce unnecessary space or garage requirements that add cost, align city code with relevant state rules where possible, and explore incentive timing/structure so manufactured housing receives comparable subsidy treatment when the city is using URD or SDC-based incentives.

Quotes and source attributions
Commissioner Clifford Reynolds raised concerns about subsidy trade-offs and fiscal impacts, saying, "we are taking from public services, okay, funding that they will need. And we're saying that it's creating a, lehi cost approach for builders and buyers." City staff replied that an Urban Renewal District does not divert tax revenue until new development occurs and that, in one instance, the district enabled a private investor to commit more than $25 million in new development that likely would not have happened without URD support.

Actions requested
- Staff to prepare a targeted code amendment package for Planning Commission review addressing manufactured-dwelling-park standards (lot sizes, utility trenching/undergrounding requirements, and applicability to modern factory-built homes).
- Staff and consultants to identify potential timing and design tweaks so the city's financial incentives apply equitably to manufactured housing where appropriate.

Ending
Commissioners asked staff to return with a focused work session on the specific code changes and incentive mechanics; EcoNorthwest and staff agreed to draft proposals and circulate them ahead of the commission's next meeting.