Everett begins formal process to protect manufactured‑home parks with new NRMHC zoning

Everett planning staff on April 22 presented a first reading of Council Bill 26‑04‑23 to create a neighborhood residential manufactured housing community (NRMHC) zone intended to protect residents of manufactured‑home parks and preserve an affordable form of homeownership.

"We are looking to create a manufactured housing community zone for the benefit of, protecting residents in manufactured communities across the city," Planning Manager Allison Wetzel said, explaining staff recommended converting the base zone for seven of the city’s 10 parks rather than using an optional overlay. Wetzel said the proposal adds a purpose statement, uses and development regulations aligned with residential standards, 1‑for‑1 replacement for units, and a title notice for protected sites.

Wetzel told council staff reviewed homeownership rates across parks and used those figures to select sites: "The total average, if you're including all the parks, it's 87%" owner occupancy, she said. She added that state law requires a showing of financial infeasibility to remove the zoning in the future.

Kathy Brown, a resident of Fairway Estates, urged support during public comment: "Supporting this zoning is a way to protect people. It keeps an important source of affordable housing in our city and allows residents like me to stay in the place we call home." Brown said manufactured‑home parks house seniors, working families and veterans who could be displaced without protections.

Council members asked detailed questions about the parks selected for protection, the evidentiary threshold for declaring a site financially infeasible, how the new base zone compares with neighborhood residential designations, and whether exceptions would be allowed for live‑in caregivers in over‑55 communities. Wetzel said staff had performed neighborhood outreach, sent letters to park owners and residents, and will hold a public hearing at the second reading next week; the third and final reading and possible vote is scheduled for May 6, 2026.

The ordinance would also prohibit establishment of new manufactured‑home parks (a policy the city already applies), and it would allow a future change of use only after the owner proves financial infeasibility under the applicable state rules.

If council advances the bill at the scheduled hearings, staff said the change intends to give residents more permanence and reduce the risk of displacement while preserving options for future review if conditions materially change.