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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-20-2017-13-4 - Information Item - Memorandum - Update on the Affordable Housing Land Banking Mobile Home Park Work Group INFORMATION ITEM 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Board of County Commissioners Bonnie B. Hammersley, County Manager FROM: Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile Home Park Work Group DATE: June 20, 2017 SUBJECT: Information Item — Update on the Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile Home Park Work Group Please accept the following memorandum regarding the Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile Home Park Work Group. Background For many years, there has been interest in addressing the vulnerability of residents living in mobile home parks in Orange County. The Orange County Board of Commissioners allocated $1 million in the FY2015-16 and FY16-17 budgets for a land banking program. This program was established by the BOCC to address land banking of mobile homes parks, and/or to assist in the acquisition of property for future residential development as an affordable housing alternative. The goal was for these funds to support the development of affordable housing by acquiring improved and unimproved land for current and future affordable housing developments. Mobile Home Park Work Group Following the establishment of the land banking program and designated funding from Orange County, local housing partners began to discuss and evaluate the opportunities and obstacles in redeveloping an existing mobile home park or developing new affordable housing addressing the needs of mobile home park residents at risk. Orange County Habitat for Humanity invited interested, local individuals to form an informal ad hoc committee that became known as the Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile Home Park Work Group. The work group consisted of local government staff, for-profit developers, and non-profit housing staff including: - Susan Levy, Habitat for Humanity - Judy Johnson, Town of Chapel Hill - Robert Downing, Community Home Trust - Edward Barberio, Town of Chapel Hill - Jess Brandes, CASA - Eric Chupp, Capkov Ventures, Inc. - Travis Myren, Orange County - Elam Hall, Eller Capital Partners - Craig Benedict, Orange County - David Beck, Self Help - Ashley Moncado, Orange County Over the course of several months the work group reviewed and discussed several issues facing mobile home park residents and owners. The main issue identified by the work group was that mobile home park residents, specifically in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, were faced with losing their homes and displacement as a result of redevelopment of the existing parks. In addition, these residents faced limited affordable housing options due to a lack of available mobile homes and/or mobile home spaces elsewhere and increasing housing costs in the Towns. 2 After identifying the main issues that may be unfolding in the immediate future, the work group set out to identify goals, explore options, and consider strategies that would assist in developing effective recommendations to address the mobile home park issue in Orange County. Mobile Home Park Strategies In order to address concerns related to mobile home parks, the work group proposed several strategies with the intent to mitigate displacement, preserve existing mobile home supply, and increase mobile home supply. The development of these strategies was based on a review of other communities' efforts addressing mobile home park conversions, similar to Orange County, and other successful case studies. In addition, these strategies incorporated approaches to address mobile home park concerns, based on the work group's experience and knowledge, as well as existing resources including the mobile home park inventory and maps. The purpose of collecting and drafting these strategies was to review and determine what options may be available for Orange County to successfully implement in order to address local concerns and goals related to mobile home parks. These strategies include: - Mobile home urgent repair and rehab program; - Mobile home park outreach campaign; - Mobile home space/home lease or rental program; - Rezoning of existing mobile home parks; - Resident mobile home park purchase and management; - Government funded financial incentives for park improvements; - Government funded infrastructure improvements; - Mobile home park revitalization and/or expansion; - Government purchase of existing mobile home park; - Government purchase, revitalization, and/or expansion of existing mobile; home park; and - Government purchase of undeveloped land for future development Mobile Home Park Evaluation While identifying and evaluating the proposed strategies, the work group also began a preliminary assessment of existing mobile home parks in the county. The purpose of this assessment was to determine the opportunity and capacity to employ the proposed mobile home park strategies in Orange County. As a result, the work group drafted key criteria to identify and evaluate mobile home parks where the proposed strategies may be feasible in Orange County. These criteria included: - Access to public transportation, health services, government services, education, shopping, and employment centers; - Condition of the mobile home park, homes, infrastructure, and amenities; - Vacancy rate; - Access to existing or planned public water and wastewater infrastructure; - Estimated infrastructure costs; - Future expansion and redevelopment opportunities; - Future and existing land use and zoning, including surrounding parcels; - Potential acquisition costs; and - Current and future ownership, partnership, and management opportunities 3 Utilizing these criteria, the work group was able to identify several existing mobile home parks and potential new locations in the county where the individual strategies may be implemented successfully. This provided the group with a starting point for modifying the strategies and drafting recommendations that would be attainable and practical based on Orange County's resources and circumstances. Next Steps Moving forward, the work group will begin coordinating community outreach efforts with existing stakeholders and the Orange County Family Success Alliance in order to seek input from existing mobile home park residents. In addition, the work group will be drafting and finalizing recommendations to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The final recommendations will include action steps with additional information, including identified locations in the county where the recommendations may be implemented and various items for consideration by the BOCC for successful outcomes. These recommendations will be presented for review and comment at the September 19 BOCC meeting. At that time, the BOCC may request further information from the work group and/or determine the next steps in the process based on information received. If you have questions, please contact Ashley Moncado, Orange County Special Projects Planner, by phone at (919) 245-2589 or by e-mail at amoncado @orangecountync.gov or Craig N. Benedict, Orange County Planning Director, by phone at (919) 245-2575 or by e-mail at cbenedict @orangecountync.gov.