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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 3/30/2021 - Memorandum From Jc Ward, Ryan Mounce, Emily Olivo Re: Mobile Home Park/Manufactured Housing Community Zoning And Enforcement Update Planning, Development & Transportation Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 N. College Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2350 970.224.6134 FAX www.fcgov.com MEMORANDUM DATE:March 25, 2021 TO: Mayor Troxell and Councilmembers THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager Caryn Champine, PDT Director FROM: JC Ward, Senior City Planner, CDNS Ryan Mounce, City Planner, CDNS Emily Olivo, Neighborhood Liaison, CDNS RE: Mobile Home Park/Manufactured Housing Community Zoning and Enforcement Update This memo is in response to a request from the March 16, 2021 City Council meeting as well as the March 22nd LPT meeting for updates on the status of Mobile Home Park/Manufactured Housing Community rezoning and local enforcement plans. Background Rezoning: The City has completed the rezoning of six of the nine manufactured housing communities in Fort Collins to the manufactured housing zone district. Three remaining communities feature mixed or commercial zoning and additional consideration and amendments to City policy plans before potential rezoning to the manufactured housing zone district could occur. Enforcement: Due to state legislation that established the state dispute resolution center, and the enforcement that was anticipated as a result, local enforcement of City and state law regarding MHP’s was paused in 2020. However, at least two complaints filed with the state dispute resolution center in August 2020 have not received any response, so efforts to improve local enforcement have resumed. Manufactured Housing Community Zoning A map of the three remaining manufactured housing communities which have not been rezoned to the manufactured housing zone district can be found in Attachment 1. The three communities are all located in the North College corridor and include: North College (mix of residential and commercial zoning) Montclair (commercial zoning; site also includes a motel) Stonecrest (commercial zoning) Staff determined the western half of the North College community within the Low Density Mixed Use Neighborhood zone district is a candidate for rezoning. Staff recommends initiating this rezoning as soon as conditions for in-person engagement allow as this community features a senior population and a large number of residents without internet access. Staff is not recommending rezoning the remaining two and a half properties based on their commercial zoning designation and the policy/land use guidance provided by the North College Corridor Plan and City Plan. Both documents indicate greater land use flexibility and intensity along the North College Avenue frontage which conflict with standards of the manufactured housing zone district. As rezonings must comply with the comprehensive plan and subarea plans, an amendment to these policy documents will first require amending both plans and reverting longstanding land use and policy guidance for these properties and their immediate context related to redevelopment and infrastructure improvements. Additional considerations for amending City Plan and the North College Corridor Plan are outlined in Attachment 2, a November 2020 staff memo outlining options and additional process required for the potential rezone of commercial properties. Staff is also monitoring recently introduced state legislation (House Bill 21-1117) which would lift restrictions on local jurisdictions’ ability to require affordable housing in rental (re)development. If lifted, the City would have more tools available to consider requirements for affordable housing preservation beyond a traditional rezoning. Mobile Home Park Code Enforcement The Mobile Home Park Residents’ Rights Team is currently developing the timeline and staffing assessment for livability Code enforcement in mobile home parks and reviewing options for local enforcement of the state’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Act and Amendments. The purpose of Mobile Home Park (“MHP”) Residents’ Rights programs is to improve the city’s relationship with MHP managers, increase manager and owner accountability, and provide consistency in livability in all neighborhoods across the city. The divided ownership model and related power dynamic unique to mobile home parks where residents own the home but rent the lot from the MHP makes standard processes for Code enforcement of Municipal Code less effective and has greater potential to create financial hardship for residents. In other neighborhood types, property owners are ultimately responsible for Code violations on the property including the cost of compliance and fines. In a mobile home park, that enforcement structure would need modification to avoid MHP owners becoming financially responsible for all violations within the park and passing the costs of compliance and fines along to residents. Since proactive Code Compliance has not been occurring in mobile home parks in the city for years, residents, property managers, and MHP owners will also need some time and assistance to get their spaces prepared in advance of regular enforcement. An education program with community clean-up days leading up to regular proactive Code Compliance patrols will be implemented over the next three years, with a concentrated engagement effort in 2021 and 2022 that will enable city staff to learn the full scope of the work, build relationships with residents and management, and support MHP’s compliancy prior to any official inspection. In 2021, we have already begun this engagement effort with senior (55+) MHP’s and have 2-day grant funded, volunteer-based clean up and resource fair events planned in each senior MHP this Fall. Other engagement techniques planned include mock inspections and neighborhood walks with code enforcement staff to answer questions and prepare managers. The final Code Compliance enforcement program will include not only regular proactive patrols and investigation of complaints, but also an annual inspection and requirements for documentation for each MHP with a priority focus on water quality, infrastructure maintenance or plans, tree maintenance, and utility billing transparency. Priority enforcement focus areas will be periodically reviewed and updated to ensure emerging and important issues are addressed. Additional requirements and opportunities for management are being explored, such as providing a copy of MHP rules and lot rent amounts, incentives for enhanced livability initiatives, and continuing education classes with certification for MHP property managers. In order to meet the demands of this program, Neighborhood Services is submitting a 2022 enhancement Budgeting for Outcomes (“BFO”) offer to conduct staffing needs assessments, track minimum and maximum intervals for proactive Code Compliance patrols, and pay for community clean-up supplies such as roll-off dumpsters or landscaping supplies, Staff also anticipates a 2023/24 BFO enhancement offer for the additional MHP Code Compliance staffing needed and a mini-grant program to assist residents and property owners with mitigation of Code violations through 2024. The MHP Residents’ Rights Team seeks to balance the need for enforcement and improvement of livability issues with the potential for the cost burden of enforcement fines to be passed onto residents. Therefore, our approach puts engagement and education at the forefront and may include an adaptation of the current Code violation citation fees as they apply to MHP’s. Mobile Home Park Oversight Act and Amendments Local Enforcement Enforcement of violations of the Colorado Mobile Home Park Oversight Act and Amendments have been handled by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs through a complaint-based system since May 2020. However, Staff is aware of accountability concerns based on community input and complaint tracking of the state process. Complaints alleging violations of state law from residents of multiple MHP’s in Fort Collins have not been investigated or closed in seven months and other complaints are closed without notification of findings to the residents who filed them. The MHP Residents’ Rights Team is beginning work with partners in the City Attorney’s Office to develop mechanisms for local enforcement of state law to protect mobile home park residents and improve accountability for property managers and MHP owners and would like to bring options for Council to consider in a Work Session in 2021. CC: Paul Sizemore, Interim CDNS Director Marcy Yoder, Neighborhood Services Manager Planning, Development & Transportation Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 N. College Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2350 970.224.6134 FAX www.fcgov.com MEMORANDUM DATE: November 12, 2020 TO: Mayor Troxell and City Councilmembers THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager Caryn Champine, PDT Director Paul Sizemore, Interim CDNS Director Cameron Gloss, Long Range Planning Manager FROM: Ryan Mounce, City Planner RE: Manufactured Housing Rezonings Update The purpose of this memo is to provide a status and schedule update on the rezoning of properties containing manufactured housing communities. Background Within City limits there are nine properties containing manufactured housing communities. Six of the properties are zoned residentially in the Low Density Mixed-Use Neighborhood (LMN) zone district, two are zoned commercially in the Service Commercial (CS) zone district, and one property has split LMN and CS zoning. Attachment 1 illustrates the location and rezoning status for all nine properties in City limits. LMN Properties Staff initiated the rezoning process for the six LMN properties earlier this fall. Following two neighborhood meetings, required Land Use Code notification procedures and a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board, the proposal to rezone these six properties to the Manufactured Housing (MH) zone district will be presented to Council on December 1, 2020. Staff is recommending small portions of two properties (Northstar and Skyline) remain under their current LMN designation because they contain non-manufactured housing land uses. Keeping these areas under LMN zoning allows property owners greater flexibility for land use changes and would not result in the loss of any manufactured housing units. Commercial Properties At the July 28, 2020 work session, Council provided input that the rezoning of commercial properties containing manufactured housing communities could be considered for each site based on individual merits. Staff continues to analyze and collect input on the rezoning for the three properties with commercial or split zoning, all of which are located in the North College corridor. Two smaller properties are currently designated fully with Service Commercial zoning and staff does not recommend rezoning these properties to the MH zone district. Existing policy direction provided by City Plan and the North College Corridor Plan encourage more flexible commercial zoning for these properties and rezoning may present challenges to the US287 Access Control Plan and future street/infrastructure plans. These properties also contain other types of land uses, such as a motel, that could be impacted by a change to the MH zone district. If Council directs staff to proceed with further analysis of MHC zoning for these properties, we must first initiate a planning process to amend City Plan and the North College Corridor Plan. This will serve to re-evaluate the long term land use policy for these sites in consideration of the new MHC zone district. This will require a separate process with a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board and approval by City Council and will take several months to complete. If the conclusion of that process is support for the MHC zone district, then rezoning action could be initiated. Staff is also evaluating a third property, the North College senior manufactured housing community, which contains LMN zoning on the western half and CS zoning on the eastern half. Staff analysis indicates the western half could be rezoned to the MH zone district to support manufactured housing preservation. Staff is likely to consider initiating the rezoning process for the western half of this property in early 2021 while exploring alternative ideas for preservation for the eastern commercial half of the property as well as the other two North College commercial properties.