The Clark County Council voted Wednesday, Oct. 15, to extend a moratorium on development applications that would allow the redevelopment of existing mobile and manufactured home parks.
The council first approved an emergency ordinance in August, halting any applications to redevelop or change the use of mobile and manufactured home parks for six months. The vote this week, required by state law within 60 days, extends the pause through an interim ordinance while the county drafts regulations to preserve affordable housing.
Senior Policy Analyst Jordan Bogie said the pause halts the acceptance of applications for the redevelopment of mobile and manufactured home parks for at least the next six months. This allows the county to draft regulations related to preserving mobile home parks as affordable housing.
During Tuesday’s public hearing, roughly 20 people testified. Many were residents of parks currently for sale who described the stress and uncertainty of potentially losing their homes.
“I thank you for the emergency interim ordinance and ask that you pass this for six months or longer,” Linda Huddle, vice president of the Cascade Park Estates Resident Association said. “As you know, our park is for sale, and the level of uncertainty and stress that resulted to our residents because of this is unmeasurable.”
Janet Easley, a resident of Cascade Park Village, urged the council to recognize what’s at stake.
“Those of us who live in these types of homes live with a fear that if the land beneath our homes were sold at some time in the future for a different purpose, we will have to move and our homes will be destroyed,” she said.
Bear Dobson of Colony Mobile Home Park told the council manufactured homes represent the last line of defense against homelessness for thousands of families in our county.
“They are an essential lifeline for single parents, the elderly on fixed incomes, and vulnerable families recovering from health crises,” he said.
The council voted unanimously to continue the six-month moratorium. Councilor Glen Yung recused himself from the discussion and the vote, citing a family connection to a mobile home park unit affected by the moratorium.
“Six months isn’t a long time, but we do need to have that breathing room in order to develop whatever ultimately this council decides to adopt,” County Chair Sue Marshall said. “Having the moratorium in place prevents development from occurring, and I believe that was a strategy that we decided to take.”
Council members agreed the pause is only a first step. Bogie said staff will meet with the planning department to draft new zoning policies and determine whether another six-month extension will be needed next spring.
“The next steps would be putting together a timeline of putting those policies and processes together,” Bogie said. “There will be presentations to council along the way... and there will of course be time for a conversation about that in public and to hear more public comment on the proposed policies.”
Councilor Wil Fuentes stressed that thousands of county residents’ lives could be in jeopardy without a solution.
“I support moving forward with this and I’m really, really happy to do this. In the year that I’ve been on this council, this is probably one of my favorite votes and decisions that I’ve made,” he said.
The moratorium exclusively targets redevelopment projects. It does not prohibit the purchase of mobile home parks, provided they continue to operate as such.
