The Boulder Housing Advisory Board on Nov. 19 debriefed a panel of residents and advocates about living conditions in the city’s manufactured- and mobile-home communities, with members identifying energy costs, aging-in-place maintenance burdens and code restrictions as the most pressing problems.

Karen Hoskin, chair of the Housing Advisory Board, summarized the panel’s tone: “We're able to have mobile home parks in town,” she said, noting residents value the affordability and private yards while also struggling with high utility bills and upkeep. Board members and panelists described energy inefficiency—older and newer mobile homes that cost significantly more to heat and cool than other housing types—as a recurring concern.

Panel participants cited several concrete obstacles: limited ability to add or retrofit units because of local setbacks and building-code triggers, maintenance burdens for aging residents (for example, tree care and roof work), and mixed ownership models (privately owned parks versus community-owned parks) that change who pays for repairs and infrastructure. One resident, Isabel Sanchez, recounted difficulties getting additions or repairs to meet code, which raised costs and constrained affordability.

Board members proposed several next steps. They asked that members review the city’s manufactured-housing strategy and Molly Teher’s earlier presentation to identify which strategy actions are incomplete and which staff are responsible for them. Members also suggested assembling a problem matrix that catalogs issues raised by the panel (energy upgrades, owner/park relations, road ownership/maintenance, code conflicts) and links each to potential staff or funding sources. A board member recommended exploring partnerships with the University of Colorado’s Community-Engaged Design programs to pilot retrofit work that could scale across parks.

The discussion did not produce a formal motion to adopt policy; instead, the board set homework for members to read the strategy and the panel recording and bring specific recommendations back in a future meeting. The board flagged energy-efficiency incentives, targeted outreach in Spanish and English, and clarifying how state building standards interact with local code as priority areas for follow-up.

What happens next: board members agreed to revisit manufactured housing at a future meeting after reviewing the strategy and Molly Teher’s presentation, and to prepare specific, staff-linked recommendations for City Council if gaps remain.