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Kenmore moves to protect manufactured-home communities as land values rise
Summary
Kenmore staff say the city has pursued rezoning and an overlay to reduce the risk of redeveloping manufactured-home parks—nearly 300 units across six communities—because rising land values threaten a core source of affordable housing.
Kenmore officials say the city has taken steps to preserve manufactured-home communities—an important source of lower-cost housing—by rezoning and creating restrictions intended to reduce the likelihood that park land is sold and redeveloped.
"Kenmore does have quite a few manufactured home communities," Todd Hall, the city's principal planner in community development, said. He said the city is "one of the few communities in North King County with a significant number of manufactured homes," counting roughly "nearly 300 units among six different communities throughout the city." Hall said more than half of residents in those communities are low-income, at about 50–80% of area median income (AMI) for King County.
Hall described a trend across the region in which owners sell park land as land values rise, and the manufactured-home communities are then redeveloped, eliminating that stock of affordable homes. To counter that, Kenmore has pursued rezoning and restrictions on changing those properties’ current use; the original 2017 housing strategy prioritized a manufactured-home community overlay and Hall said the city intends to strengthen protections going forward. He pointed to areas north of 522, around the 68th–73rd blocks, as locations where the city has focused preservation efforts.
Hall framed the protections as one part of a broader housing strategy that also includes ADUs, middle housing, and tools to incentivize affordability. He emphasized the policy aim is to retain housing for households that could otherwise face displacement if a park is redeveloped. The podcast did not include interviews with residents or park owners, and no specific new ordinance or funding package was announced during the episode.
Next steps in the housing-strategy update include public outreach and Planning Commission review; Hall encouraged residents, including manufactured-home residents, to attend summer outreach events and planning meetings to help shape final proposals.
