Plan Panel To Study Prefab Home Rules

The Spokane City Council is asking the Plan Commission to study whether restrictions on manufactured homes should be loosened.

Council members voted unanimously Monday to have the commission re-evaluate zoning code provisions that restrict where the homes can go.

“There are parts of the city where they would be very much an addition to the area,” said Councilman Mike Brewer.

Manufactured homes are allowed with a permit in three small areas within the city - including parts of the Hillyard, Latah Creek and Indian Trail neighborhoods.

The council last year stiffened regulations on the types of prefabricated housing allowed. Under the tighter standards, new units can’t be more than 10 years old, must have at least 864 square feet of living space and must be skirted.

Darlene Becker, an Emerson-Garfield resident, said she served on the committee that recommended the new regulations. At the time, members considered expanding where the homes could go but decided against it.

Becker said expanding the ordinance would discriminate against poorer neighborhoods.

“No one can afford to buy a lot in your neighborhoods,” she said, pointing at several council members.

The Plan Commission will study the issue for at least two months before bringing a recommendation back to the council.

, DataTimes