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Modular-housing pilot developers and buyers surprised by $1,900 "parking permit" invoice; city to investigate
Summary
Commissioners heard that buyers at a Tenable Homes modular project were billed a monthly parking-permit fee (about $1,900) that functions like a tax while assessing staff confirm rules for manufactured homes and investigate whether the charge is state-driven or locally imposed.
Commissioners heard from a project lead that buyers in a modular-housing pilot on Folsom Street received unexpected invoices described as a monthly "parking permit" fee roughly equal to $1,900 per unit.
"We didn't expect to get tax bills at $2,000 a unit," said the project representative, describing how the invoice surprised owners and could undercut the affordability goals of the pilot. The representative said the development team did not request funding from the commission and had planned to avoid subsidies, but that the fee threatened the project economics.
Planning and assessing staff reported they are investigating. "Manufactured homes are not assessed property tax and property tax is what covers emergency vehicles, snow plowing, all the operational expense of the community," staff said, explaining the technical reason assessing used a parking-permit invoice to capture the equivalent tax value for units not treated as property improvements in the assessor's initial approach. Staff said assessing told them that once Tenable Homes subdivides lots and homeowners own both lot and home, the parking permit should revert to conventional property-tax assessment; staff are also checking whether there is any related personal-property tax or other state-level requirement in play.
The commission asked staff to dig into the billing origin (city vs. state statute) and to consider advocacy if the fee is a barrier to affordable modular housing. Staff and one council member said they had been copied on related emails and would follow up with assessing and legal staff.
