Monday, Jul 25 2011 3:48PM
A recent decision will allow a California manufactured home park to expand.
The Napa, California, Planning Commission has given approval for a manufactured home park in a rural community outside of the city to improve residents' access to affordable housing, the Napa Valley Register reports.
The paper says the change will allow the manufactured home park to increase its number of spaces by nearly 20 percent, adding lower-cost housing options for residents.
"Although the mobile home park is not officially an affordable housing project with restriction on rental and/or sales rates, it provides lower rental and/or sale rates by virtue of the product’s lower construction costs and lower infrastructure requirements," city staff said, according to the report. "A mobile home park provides a more affordable housing alternative to conventionally constructed homes and condominiums."
As part of the plan, city officials are requiring the owner to make a number of improvements to the park, including new landscaping and other aesthetic changes.
The availability of affordable housing in the region has been a source of controversy in recent weeks. Latinos Unidos de Napa recently filed a lawsuit against the city, the paper reported, saying it had not created enough affordable housing opportunities for the numerous low-income workers who had moved to the area.