ROC the house: Mobile home park solutions

Affordable housing is a hot topic for cities and towns across the state and typically conjures up images of detached small single-family homes or large multifamily apartments. But for many residents, mobile home parks are one of the few remaining affordable housing options available—an estimated 65,000 families live in roughly 1,200 registered mobile home parks and manufactured home communities in Washington.

In recent years, communities across Washington have increasing concerns about the declining affordability of mobile home communities as investors purchase the land and either raise the rents or redevelop the site, wiping out whole communities at a time. In response, some cities are helping to leverage a relatively new law that allows mobile home community residents to purchase their parks.

This panel features both elected officials and staff from Washington cities that are working to address the needs of park residents while preserving affordable housing in their communities, and staff of a regional nonprofit focused on building affordable housing through cooperative ownership in Washington using the ROC-USA model.

• Learn how the Resident Owned Community (ROC) model works to safeguard affordable housing options in cities in Washington
• Understand the land use planning and policy development process that Lakewood established to ensure successful outcomes for residents
• Hear how Tumwater created a manufactured home park (MHP) zoning district that promotes high-density development while preserving existing parks

Recorded: February 5, 2025

Presenters:
Tiffany Speir, Planning Division Manager, Lakewood
Victoria O'Banion, Cooperative Housing Development Manager, Northwest Cooperative Development Center
Debbie Sullivan, Mayor, Tumwater

Resources

• PowerPoint slides: Lakewood case study
• PowerPoint slides: ROC NW Cooperative Development Center
• Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies: Comparison of the costs of manufactured and site-built housing
• HUD: Is manufactured housing a good alternative for low-income families? Evidence from the American housing survey
• MRSC: Manufactured housing regulation and preservation
• The News Tribune article: Parkland mobile-home park was being sold. County ponied up $750K to help residents buy it
• RCW 59.20.305: Manufactured/mobile home communities—Good faith negotiations—Notice of intent to purchase or lease
• RCW 59.20.320: Manufactured/mobile home communities—Notice of opportunity to compete to purchase—Prohibited
• RCW 59.20.325: Manufactured/mobile home communities—Notice of opportunity to compete to purchase

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