Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council narrows where manufactured and modular homes may locate; allows modular homes in mixed and suburban zones
Summary
The council amended the zoning code to prohibit manufactured homes in mixed‑use areas and to allow modular homes in mixed‑use and suburban neighborhoods (by council amendment making modular homes a permitted option). The measure passed unanimously.
The Common Council of the City of El Mirage on May 6 adopted a text amendment to the zoning code (land use volume 2, chapter 154.052) that changes where manufactured and modular homes may be built in the city.
The council’s final action removed municipal permission for older-style manufactured homes in mixed‑use (downtown) areas and clarified that factory‑built modular homes — which local staff said are built to state or local building codes and are equivalent to site‑built units — may be used in mixed‑use and suburban neighborhoods as a permitted option. The council approved the amendment by unanimous vote following a staff presentation and a Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation to allow modular homes by conditional use. Council amended that recommendation to make modular homes a permitted option rather than requiring a conditional use permit.
Staff told the council the code distinguishes three product types: mobile homes (pre‑1976/non‑HUD standard), manufactured homes (built to HUD standards after 1976), and modular homes (factory‑built to state/local building codes). Staff’s draft recommended prohibiting manufactured and modular homes in some zones; the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended keeping modular homes available by conditional use in mixed‑use and suburban zones and allowing modular construction as an option for multifamily. At the council meeting, members agreed to permit modular homes in mixed‑use and suburban areas and to prohibit manufactured homes from mixed‑use zones.
Public comment was mixed. One resident who owns a modular home argued that factory construction can be higher quality and urged the council not to categorically exclude factory-built dwellings. Others said HOAs should retain authority to enforce covenants and standards in their neighborhoods; staff clarified that private covenants would still control in HOA neighborhoods.
The ordinance takes effect within 30 days of adoption. Staff said the change is intended to balance neighborhood character concerns in older parts of the city while preserving a modern modular option that can increase housing affordability and speed of construction in appropriate locations.
