U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, met with residents of the Vista Del Rio mobile home park in East Vancouver to hear their concerns regarding the laws surrounding the housing type.
Vista Del Rio has been on the market for $41 million since April 2024, creating uncertainty for the residents of the 55-and-older community. The major concern in Vancouver is just one example of a nationwide issue: mobile home park land can be sold and used for other purposes, leading to the homes — many of them manufactured, rather than trailers on wheels — having to be moved or demolished.
For Perez, preserving mobile home parks can be an opportunity to free up necessary housing market space. As residents urged rule changes to access home loans to buy their land, Perez appreciated their efforts.
“It’s encouraging to see,” Perez said. “These are really creative, smart, patriotic Americans. It’s really good to talk with them and just feel that this is a great country. Like, there’s still a lot of people that will sacrifice and think critically about how they can keep the ship afloat and pass things forward. So it’s really, really encouraging to talk with these residents.”
In Clark County, the Clark County Council voted earlier this month to extend a moratorium on development applications that would allow the redevelopment of existing mobile and manufactured home parks. The council first approved an emergency ordinance in August, halting any applications to redevelop or change the use of mobile and manufactured home parks for six months, according to prior reporting by The Reflector. The vote required by state law within 60 days extends the pause through an interim ordinance while the county drafts regulations to preserve affordable housing.
Senior Policy Analyst Jordan Bogie said during the Clark County Council meeting that the pause halts the acceptance of applications for the redevelopment of mobile and manufactured home parks for at least the next six months. This allows the county to draft regulations related to preserving mobile home parks as affordable housing, according to previous reports by The Reflector.
Under current law, manufactured homes are treated as personal property if they are leased on land. Manufactured home owners on leased land cannot use home loans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for personal property. Vista Del Rio resident Steve Swope said that aspect makes it far more challenging to obtain the funding needed to buy their land.
Perez told the residents of Vista Del Rio at the roundtable that she will work to address their concerns. She brought up the potential to expand veteran association loans and to work on regulatory action to prevent mobile home parks from being viewed as a developmental asset.
Much of Clark County’s growth has shifted toward high-density residential. While mobile home parks pack density, the desire is for apartment complexes with space to rent rather than space to own.
“If that’s what you want, that’s great, but that shouldn’t be the only choice,” Perez said of high-density apartment complexes. “People still, you know, at all income spectrums deserve to be able to make the choice of what is right for them and their families and have some certainty along the way.”
