Legislation would put an end to mobile home 'discrimination'

Manufactured homes could crop up in neighborhoods throughout the Las Vegas Valley if a bill that unanimously passed the Nevada Senate last week becomes law.

Because they are built in sections in factories and trucked to the home site, manufactured homes can be more affordable than tract homes, although some models exceed $150,000.

Over the years, a certain stigma has attached itself to manufactured homes, that mass production in a distant factory means they are cheaper and less sightly than "normal" frame homes built on site.

Because of that, zoning ordinances now restrict where manufactured housing can be placed. And Clark County opposes the bill to expand their locations. The Assembly Government Affairs Committee is set to debate the legislation the week of April 26.

"They're often referred to as mobile homes, but today's manufactured homes have gotten a lot better," said Lee Scott, one of the managers of Tom Terry Homes, a manufactured-home outlet in Las Vegas. He said the factory production environment is more cost-effective than building on site, which is why manufactured homes are often less expensive.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who along with Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, sponsored the bill, said the intent is to abolish the stigma associated with manufactured homes.

"What we are trying to do is end discrimination against people who live in manufactured housing," Buckley said. "There are a lot of stereotypes about manufactured homes. A lot of people think of the type of product that was built 30 years ago. In reality, there are some very nice homes that are manufactured off site."

Lesa Coder, a Clark County assistant planning manager, told the Senate Government Affairs Committee that the county objects to the concept of mixing homes of different construction types. In part, she said, this is because people in existing neighborhoods made their purchases with the presumption that manufactured homes would not be allowed.

"An individual who buys a home, whether it is a small starter home or a multimillion dollar mansion, makes a significant investment in the home based on this presumption," Coder told the committee.

But Gub Mix, executive director of the Nevada Manufactured Housing Association, dismisses this argument against Senate Bill 323.

"This bill helps many ordinary Nevadans because it puts the price of owning a home within reach," he said. "Manufactured housing costs 15 to 20 percent less than site-built homes."

Mix said nationally about one-third of new homes purchased are manufactured.

"In Clark County, about 2.7 percent of the new homes are manufactured. That says to me that there is significant discrimination going on there," he said.

The bill establishes design standards that manufactured homes must meet when placed in a traditional single-family neighborhood.

They are:

* Homes must have been made in 1996 or after and be at least 960 square feet.

* The structure must be at least 24 feet wide.

* The building's foundation must be built at grade, where the home will stand.

* The house must blend in with neighboring structures by having an exterior consistent with the character of the neighborhood.

"What that means is that if every home in the neighborhood is stucco, that manufactured home had better be stucco, too. If every home in the neighborhood has a red tile roof, that manufactured home will have one as well," Mix said.

The legislation would not overturn existing deed and covenant restrictions that already prohibit manufactured housing in certain neighborhoods, he said.

"The reality is that almost all existing neighborhoods in Las Vegas have restrictions that keep out manufactured housing," Mix said. "But there are areas all over Clark County where we could build."

This worries M.J. Harvey, chairwoman of the Paradise Town Board.

"Let's say your neighbor's house burns down," she said. "There is nothing to keep him from replacing it with a mobile home. That is something we definitely don't want to happen in our neighborhoods."

Harvey said manufactured homes would reduce property values for neighboring properties.

But Charlie Joerg, a lobbyist for the association, said this bill helps working-class people.

"There are a lot of people living in mobile-home parks or upper-end apartments. They are forced to pay rent, but they just can't quite afford to buy a home. This bill will put a home within reach for some of them."

Mix said he is optimistic about the bill's passage.

"When you consider that it passed the Senate unanimously, I think it will pass the Assembly, too. I also expect the governor will support it," he said.

Mix said his organization consists of a combination of makers of manufactured housing, retailers and lenders. The are no manufactured housing plants in Nevada, he said. Tom Terry Homes, for example, builds its manufactured homes in California and Arizona.

Mix said it is unlikely that the bill will significantly change the character of existing upscale neighborhoods.

"First of all, most upscale neighborhoods already have restrictive covenants that keep out manufactured housing. But even if they didn't, it doesn't make sense to put a low-end house in an upscale neighborhood. Who would put a $60,000 house on a $150,000 lot?"

Mix said this bill is his association's top legislative priority for this session.

John Schlegel, director of Clark County's Comprehensive Planning Department, is opposed to the bill but said he doesn't believe it will radically change the face of urban Clark County.

"If this bill passes, it is not like you are going to suddenly see truckloads of manufactured homes being hauled into neighborhoods. I think the neighborhoods that are most likely to see a change are those with a few vacant lots where manufactured housing can come in," he said.

This could be perceived as a step backward in efforts to redevelop mature neighborhoods, he said.

"I think many people in those neighborhoods may perceive it as a bad thing because the manufactured homes may not have quite the same architectural style as those that already exist in the neighborhood," he said.

But Michael Harper of Washoe County's Community Development Department said neighbors primarily oppose manufactured homes because of their perceived impact on property values.

"Back in 1993, we considered allowing manufactured housing in all single-family residential neighborhoods in the county," he said. "We received massive opposition from the community and had to back away from the proposal.

"The opposition all boiled down to people being concerned that their home's value would go down if a manufactured home went in next door."

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