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Lacey staff outlines two‑track outreach to study preservation of manufactured home parks
Summary
City staff proposed a two‑track engagement plan to gather resident and owner input on manufactured home park preservation, citing survey data, rising lot rents and limited staff hours; commissioners urged adding UGA parks, transit access and preliminary financial analysis.
City planning staff presented a draft engagement approach May 13 to study preservation and policy options for manufactured home parks (MHPs), proposing separate resident and owner tracks to better capture different perspectives and reduce participation barriers.
Housing coordinator Jennifer Adams said staff’s 2023 outreach and a door‑to‑door survey returned more than 350 responses and many detailed comments that raised concerns about lot‑rent increases, infrastructure deficits and housing insecurity. She told commissioners a local park that reported $900 monthly space rent in 2023 is now reporting inquiries from newcomers paying up to $2,300 a month, a development staff characterized as unaffordable for many residents.
Staff proposed a two‑track engagement model: a resident track emphasizing accessible, localized or centrally located meetings, multi‑modal participation options and targeted surveys; and an owner track offering one‑on‑one interviews and discussions about incentives or preservation tools. Adams said the city has allocated roughly 200 staff hours in 2026 for this work but has not yet requested a budget for outreach costs such as mailings, facility rentals, translation and facilitation.
Commissioners broadly supported the work but stressed practical considerations. Commissioner Robert Decarian warned about creating expectations without resources and recommended early financial benchmarking to understand whether owners are raising rents to cover costs or acting predatory. Several commissioners urged including parks in the urban growth area (UGA) in the scope, discussed transit options to reduce attendance barriers and suggested small incentives or targeted regional meeting sites (schools, community centers) to improve participation.
Adams said staff is coordinating with the Washington State Department of Commerce but noted Commerce programs primarily focus on post‑displacement assistance and may not cover the full cost of moving units or long‑term preservation. Staff plans next steps guided by commissioners’ input on engagement model, geographic scope and resource needs.
What happens next: staff will refine the draft engagement plan incorporating commission direction and return with a proposed outreach schedule and resource recommendations for future commission consideration.
