Planning commission approves zoning changes to allow 'qualified manufactured homes' with local compatibility standards

The Danville City Planning and Zoning Commission approved zoning-text changes to allow "qualified manufactured homes" in the same locations where single-family houses are permitted and to add local compatibility standards intended to preserve neighborhood character.

Staff presenting the package said the changes respond to a state statutory update cited in the meeting as "CARES 100.348" and "House Bill 160 from the 2025 regular session," and that the city must implement the amendments before the statute takes effect. "I also wanna state this is a requirement to update, CARES 100.348," planning staff said during the presentation. The package was described to the commission as the first, time-sensitive part of a larger zoning-ordinance overhaul.

The adopted changes add a new category, "qualified manufactured homes," and allow those units wherever single-family residential is permitted. The ordinance additions include a local compatibility standard requiring review within an eighth of a mile of a proposed site. Staff summarized the compatibility criteria: "compatibility shall be evaluated based on roof pit roof form and pitch, no less than 4 12 pitch and a 12 inch eave, facade composition, type, and quality of exterior building materials, window and door placement, and massing and building width." The standards are intended to ensure new manufactured units visually fit the surrounding neighborhood.

Commissioners and staff also discussed technical definitions. Staff reiterated the distinction between mobile homes (pre-1976) and manufactured homes (post-1976 under HUD standards), and noted a new subcategory, "qualified manufactured home," intended to reflect higher-quality, more recently built units. During discussion staff used both "built in the last 5 years" and elsewhere "within the last year" when describing the time window for the qualified designation; staff said those details will be fixed in the written draft and circulated to the commission and public for review.

A motion to adopt the packet amendments addressing qualified manufactured housing and align the ordinance with state law was made by a commissioner and seconded by the chair. The commission voted to approve the motion.

Staff said the broader zoning-ordinance revisions (additional articles and readability updates) will be released in later packages and that packet materials will be emailed and posted on the website so the public can review and comment. Staff also said the commission will coordinate with fiscal court and other legislative bodies as required before further, non-time-sensitive amendments are finalized.