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October 1998

Residential zoning rears head again
SUNNYSIDE (Monday, 10-26-98)--When the city council knocked manufactured housing out of R-1 zones awhile back, it left some rules out concerning manufactured housing allowable in R-2 zone codes.
 
Now the municipal code addressing R-2 zoning is on its way back to the Planning Commission for discussion.
 
Question: with R-2 rules in limbo, can some sharpie developer erect something outrageous in an R-2 zone that wouldn't ordinarily pass muster? It was a concern this evening.
 
City staff were sort of nervous, too, because zoning subjects are similar to tar babies. If you reach out a helping right hand to a tar baby, your hand gets stuck. So you reach out your left hand to gain leverage to pull your right hand out. That gets stuck, too. So you try your right foot. At this point, you're hopping around on your left foot....
 
City staff spotted the R-2 zoning language oversight, and asked the council this evening to reach out a helping hand-- to approve changes in the R-2 zoning language about manufactured homes to make up for the earlier oversight.
 
Then council members noticed some things they didn't like about the proposed language regarding manufactured housing in R-2 zones.
 
Councilman Mike Farmer, for example, didn't like the assertion that "The manufactured home must have a living area of not less than 864 square feet." Should be bigger, he said.
 
"We wouldn't allow a stick-built home that small. We need to bump it up to 1100 square feet," Farmer said.
 
Councilman Don Vlieger agreed. In a manufactured home park, it's not an issue, he said. "In our neighborhood, we have apartments bigger than (864-square feet). He emphasized he was not disparaging manufactured homes.
 
Councilman Errol Brown noted the 236 square-foot difference between the 864 and 1100-foot homes--at $50 per-square-foot construction costs--would make R-2 homes cost $11,800 more to build. Each. That would break few banks, he feared.
 
"If R-2 homes have to be bigger (than 864-square feet), it'll have to go back to the Planning Commission," Brown said.
 
"This is a very sensitive issue," said City Mgr. Don Hahnfeldt.
 
Don Vlieger said he wants to tour an 864-square foot home for himself. Jerry Herman, who was in the audience, agreed to conduct the councilman through one.
 
After considerable discussion about other details, the council agreed to send the R-2 matter back to city planners.
 
The council also: