HUD

Trisectional manufactured house

For the first time, Del Mar is carving out rules that allow manufactured homes to mingle with mansions in single dwelling neighborhoods.

Currently, there are no mobile homes in the city. 

The Del Mar City Council on September 5 will introduce an ordinance allowing the dwellings – which are made off site and held to federal code – to be installed on permanent foundations (their wheels removed) in residential zones that permit one home per lot.

Single-section manufactured home

HUD

Regulations related to moving buildings and other aspects of manufactured homes have existed in Del Mar since 2014, but with zero mobile homes to date, they haven't enabled them. The city says the ordinance is needed to ensure there are no "impediments" to this type of housing.

In addition to very low-density zones, including the low-density beach residential area, the prefab units can be placed in mixed residential and commercial zones, as well as the Carmel Valley Precise Plan. That is, everywhere a single dwelling unit can go.

The new ordinance, alongside the city's draft accessory dwelling unit rules, is one of several the council must adopt before the end of the year to comply with state law meant to boost the supply and affordability of homes. That, or lose some local control under state housing law.

To obtain a permit for a manufactured home as a primary residence, applicants face the same approval process they would for a conventional dwelling in that zone, including requirements for utility connections, height, lot coverage, setbacks, parking, and other development standards.

Like site-built homes, they're subject to a Design Review Board permit process (except in cases where ministerial approval is required, including applications under accessory dwelling unit laws, the city says). While Housing & Community Development regulates the design of manufactured homes, state law and the ordinance give the city some leeway.

Foundations for manufactured homes

The city can limit them by age to those made not more than 10 years prior to the permit application. As for architectural standards, a city report says they will "look substantially like a conventional single dwelling unit" as to roofing and siding material, along with parking and zoning requirements.

Squeezing in more – and more affordable housing – has been an uphill climb in the small coastal city. According to real estate website Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Del Mar was $3.1M last month. And the city's Housing Element shows that in 2017, single-family units still made up most of the housing stock (61.6 percent). 

For now, residents who oppose the changing landscape of housing options have focused on the tsunami of short-term rentals, which many would like to see completely banned from residential zones.

"I cannot think of a better way to destroy a town," one letter to the city reads.

The second reading and adoption of the manufactured homes ordinance will take place on September 18. The ordinance will take effect 30 days later.