This Lacey mobile home park was worried about its future. Now the city will study the topic
Lacey City Council on Thursday approved a plan to study mobile homes in the area, a year after a resident raised concerns about the future of his own home.
In December 2021, the resident sought a rezone of Mountain Greens, a mobile home park in the 5200 block of 55th Lane Southeast, wanting to change the zoning from low-density residential. The resident feared that under its current zoning the mobile home park could be sold and residents evicted so the property could be redeveloped.
Mobile home owners own their homes, but typically rent the underlying land from the park owner.
The rezone request was not added to the Lacey Planning Commission’s work plan for 2022, but on Thursday the council voted to have the planning commission study issues around mobile home parks this year.
“This is critical housing for people and this is a big deal,” Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder said. “I understand how important this work is and I hope we get though this process as soon as possible.”
Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller asked whether the study would focus only on Mountain Greens.
Interim City Manager Rick Walk said the study will be broader than that, and will look at mobile home parks in the city and urban growth area, focusing on their condition, surrounding land-use patterns and best practices to preserve the parks, he said.
Beyond that, the study is expected to produce a menu of actions the city could take, Walk said. For example, a zoning classification unique to mobile homes could be created, or for those mobile home parks better suited for redevelopment, mitigating the impact of redevelopment by providing funds to still house individuals, he said.
At this point it’s just a study, Walk added.
This story was originally published February 11, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
