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HomeMy WebLinkAboutManufactured Housing Design brief ae —edging out Mississippi for this dubious _-What Should AHouse Look Like? Randall Arendt,Senior Planner in Maine,proposes Visual Compatability Standards “If it looks like a house and is used like a house,then whynotZONEitlikeahouse?”. Randall Arendt admits this may not be a very originalexpressionbuthefeelsapplicationofthisconceptshoulddeterminehowmanufacturedhomesaretreatedbylocalplanningandzoningauthorities.It's what he's beentellinganyonewillingtolisten,all the way from Elkhart,Indiana,where he addressed the National Symposium on AffordableHousinglastNovember,to loca!government officials withinthejurisdictionoftheSouthernMaineRegionalPlanningCommissionwhereheisaSeniorPlanner. What brought about his emphasis on appearance of hous- ing are two special conditions that prevail in Maine“Several years ago,"'Arendt says,:‘Maine gained the distinction of becoming the country’s poorest state, honor.It's no wonder,then,that almost one out of five new housessold inMaine’during the 1970-1980 period was a mobile home.Needless to say, almost all were the-more traditional single-sections.Many were flat-roofed, metal-sided homes mounted on cinder blocks.This situation often had a pro- found effect on votersin other towns who hastened to adopt a variety of restrictions on mobile homes in general. “Furthermore,”he points out,“Maine is a home-rule state where towns.and cities do pretty much what they please aslongastheydon't run counter to-the State Constitution oranyStatelawwhichpreemptsmunicipalauthority.This is worth noting because the State Supreme Coun,twice in justthelast15months,has upheld local ordinances restricting mobile homes to mobile home parks,without consideration of their size and appearance!" et The modular loophole As is true in so many other areas of the country,local gov- ernments draw a distinction between modular manufactured houses (butt to local or regional codes)and those housesbuilttonationalHUDcodes.‘These same ordinances that require all mobile homes...HUD-code manufactured houses :..to be in mobile home parks,period,allow any modular house to be locatedanywhere.” Arendt emphasizes the inevitable fallacy of this blanketviewpoint:“Since many of the newer mobile homes lookexactlylikethesingle-section modular homes,present zoning restrictions against the HUD-code homesis clearly absurd.” Basing visual compatability on marketing “A house should look like what most people THINK a house should look like,"says Arendt.“Otherwise they _simply won't sell to most people!"Again he admits this isn't an original statement and,infact,comes from an American Planning Association publica- tion on manufactured housing,“Regulating Mobile Homes,”byFrederickBair.: “In Maine aselsewhere,what most people wantis the tra-ditional,stick-built look. QUARTERIY 1A dingie-station MH With ¢garage. OPHING 1983 Suggested ‘Visual Compatibility Standards’ While standards in different regions should reflect prefer-ences and mores that prevail there,Arendt feels thesecri-teria are generally useful in defining whata house,whateveritsorigins,should ‘look like.” 1.The main body should be rectangular and not too nar-row in its least dimension.Rectilinear form may be relievedbybreaksinthefacade,and apparent size may be increasedbyaddinganattachedgarageattheend. 2.The main roof should be pitched rather than flat,unless flat roofs are traditional or at least accepted in your region. It should appear to be shingled or surfaced in a manner com-patible with other homes in your region. 3.The house should appear to face the street.However,_the narrow end may be allowed to face the street (especiallywherelotdimensionsrequirethis)if a connected breezewayand/or garage create a continuous front of at least 35 feet. _4.The exterior walls should look like wood or masonry,regardless of their actual composition. 5.The foundation should form a complete enclosure under exterior walls.Here again,there should be allowable varia-tions in areas whereall houses are set-up off the ground toavoiddampness,flooding,or_wind-driven high tides as in exposed|Coastal areas. 6:Apparent bulk should be about the|same throughout the neighborhood. Houses with relatively smaller floor space maystill be acceptableif at- 'tached additions make up the differ-!ence in apparent bulk. Developing your own locational matrix Starting with these visual compatability criteria and adapt-ing them to your ownregional traditions,say Arendt,enablesyoutolayoutasimplematrixrelatingcriteriatozoning.InhisareaofSouthernMaine,for example,he lists eight kindsofresidentiallocations:Village Residential,SuburbanResidential,Multi-Family Residential,Historical Areas,Rural—Restrictive,Rural—Non-Restrictive,Mobile HomeParks,Manufactured Home Subdivisions,and ShorelandLimitedResidential.Against these he arrays specific criteriagroupedwithinproportions,appearance andmaterials,treat-ment below unit,and construction standards(to sharply limitanythingthatfailstomeetHUDorStatestandards).Those models designed to accept aT or L.addition,withnaturalexteriors,pitched roofs,and permanent foundations“might be allowed anywhere traditional site-built houses areallowed."’Those designed in the “mobile home"traditionmightbelimitedtorentalparksandothernon-restrictiveareas,while those falling somewhere in between could bezonedaccordingly.In addition to meeting the growing need for middie-income housing in desirable locations,and for local jurisdic-tions to derive tax benefits from manufactured houses defin-able as real property,Arendt sees anotherincentive for zon-ing flexibility. “Failure to make manufactured housing zoning changesthatreflecttoday’s realities both in the product and the mar-ket maylead to the loss of powers to regulate manufacturedhomesontheloca!level.Several states have already takenstepstoHimitTHeauthorityonmobilehomes.” Randall G.Arendt is Senior Planner,Southern Maine Regional PlanningCommission,Sanford,Maine.He gradu-ated from Wesleyan University in Con-— necticut and received a master's degrees ‘in urban design and regional planningfromtheUniversityofEdinburgh.Prior to his current position,he was SeniorPlanningAssistant,Norfolk CountyPlanningDepartment,Norwich,England,and is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute 3. CONSTRUCTION government officials attended MANUFACTURED HOUSINGMobes, Manufactured housing put on its best face before 300 builders,manufacturers and local zoning officials at a HUD-sponsoredsymposium. ” JAMES CARPERASSOCIATEEDITOR Manufactured housing starred indemonstrationprojectdesignedtoshowthatfactory-built housing is anaffordableandattractivealternativetosite-built homes.The DepartmentofHousingandUrbanDevelopmentwastheprincipalsponsoroftheevent.Attendance was so great at thetwo-day ‘’National Symposium onAffordableHousing”in Elkhart,Ind.,that the meeting room was switchedfromadowntownmoteltoalocalmovietheater.More than 300builders,home manufacturers andtheseminarsandtouredthetwodemon-stration sites.The thrust of the symposium wastoshowthatmanufacturedhousingissheddingitsboxy,unattractiveimageofyearspastandnowcomparesfavorablywithconvention-ally built homes.The 15 homes in two demonstra-tion subdivisions included single anddouble-wide mobile homes built totheHUDcodeandmodularhomesbuilttothestatebuildingcode.Thehouseswereplacedonpermanent foundations (basements or crawlspaces)on landscaped lots.Garagesanddeckswerebuiltonsite.Twomanufacturedhomesandastick-built The Brookwood I is a single-wide homebuiltbyCommodoreBuildingCorp.of Syracuse,Ind.This three-bedroom, 128/PROFESSIONAL BUILDER JANUARY,1983 American Homes Inc,,Decatur,Ind.TheChathammodelhas864squarefeetonthe -first floor and 450 square feet ofunfinishedspaceupstairs.Larger homesizesareavailable.Two miwdules are one were exhibited at two otherdemonstrationsites.The seminar organizers took greatcaretoavoidreferringtothehousesasmobilehomes,preferring insteadtocallthemsite-delivered homes.“Mobile home”still conjures up anegativeimageamongsomeconsum-ers and Provably,more important,zoning Officials.One point maderepeatedly duringthetwo-day conference was_thatmobilehomes,when considered asteal-estate and not as_personal‘property,can add to a community’staxbase.Randall Arendt,a planner for theSouthernMaineRegionalPlanningCommission,captured the essenceofthesymposiumwhenhetoldzoningofficialsthatiftheproductlookslikeahouse,then it should be zonedlike ahousé,regardless of where or how itwasconstructed.Manufactured housingis achieving two-bath model has 924 square feet.Price,not including lot or landscaping,is about$31,500.Price includes site-built garage. yd Bmmatie Lotankbiet V1.eH SEARRLgesteisAreaatesyeaa ot pepaneraBOLgedaelateacneEOaSY Mods Mix At HUD Demonstration i bsa shipped with the roof folded down.Afteron-site erection,panelized dormers areaddedaswellastheporchcanopy.Thisgaragewasstick-built but it can bepanelized.Basic home price withoutlot is $25,000. parity not only in zoning butalsoinfinancing,said Frank Athey ofMortgageGuarantyInsuranceCorp.It is securing the same terms andinterestratesassite-built housing.With manufactured housing nowbeingacceptedasrealestate,theindustryisbecomingatwo-tieredone,said Craig White,a consultantwiththeManufacturedHousingResourcesGroupinDenver.Speak-ing after the symposium,Whiteelaborated.One tier consists of the mobilehometaxedaspersonalproperty.The other tier is of mobile homes onpermanentfoundationsandtaxedas real estate.It is thistier that holdsampleopportunitiesforthebuilder/developer,Whitesaid.And the demonstration project hasgivensomehousingmanufacturersaninsightintotheroleofgeneralcontractorordeveloper.The symposium was anothermilestoneinthemanufacturedhous-ing industry’s evolution away fromitsmobilehomeorigins.Eventually,the industry would like to beregardedashousing,on par withstick-built homes,without the modi-fier,““manufactured”’.Fight organizations Sponsored thesymposium:HUD,the Home Manu-facturers’Council of NAHB,theManufacturedHousingInstitute,theIndianaDepartmentofCommerce,the National Association of Counties,the International City ManagementAssociation,the Indiana Manufac-tured Housing Association andElkhartCounty.0 WHAT SHOULD A HOUSE LOOKLIKE?A.house should look like what most people think ahouseshouldlooklike.This is about what most houses_do looklike.Otherwise they would notsell to mast peo-ple.Judging from whatis out there in single-family de- tached districts across the country,here is what a houseshouldlooklike:‘ 1.The main body of the house should be a rectangle, not too narrowin its least dimension.Rectilinear form mayberelieved by breaksin facade,and ap-parent size may be increasedby adding an attachedgarageattheend, 2.The main roof should be pitched,rather than flat.This limitation would not apply in areas of thecountrywhereflatroofsaretraditionaloratieast accepted,and,of course,porches or attachedgaragesmayhaveflatroofs. 3,The house should appear to face the street.Usually,this means that the long axis wil]be parallel to the street,Other Arrange tS can private Sameeecthowever,with.alfached b reexewans awd Qavanes .The exterior walls should look like wood or ma-sonry,regardless of their actual composition. 5.The main roof should appear to be shingled.In some areas,tile,built-up roofs with marble chips, or other forms may be acceptable,and,of course,the requirement for shingled appearance would not applyto flat roofs. 6.The foundation should form a complete enclosureunderexteriorwalls.Here again there will be vari-ations in areas in which houses are set up off thegroundtoavoiddampness,flooding,or (in exposedcoastalareas)the rush of wind-driven hightides. 7.Apparent bulk should be about the same through- out the neighborhood.There is no objection to anoccasionallargerhouse,but none should be per-mitted that look substantially smaller than the gen-eral run.Houses withrelatively smaller residentialfloorareasmaybeacceptedifattachedgaragespaceorotheradditionsmakeupthedifferenceinapparentbulk, 8.There should not be weird colors,peculiar windowaesigns,odd ornamentation,or excessive reflectionfromexteriorfinish. G,Houses should look enough alike,but not toomuch alike, These are the principal customs,conventions,tradi-_tions,prejudices,or attitudinal sets reflected in the shapeofsingle-family detached housing asit is.Departure from —these unwritten normsis felt to have an adverse effectviiihecharacterofsingle-family neighborhoods and tothreatenthevalueofproperty.Enterzoning. —Fred Bair - :TAalfred, MAINE July,1982.Vol.44.No.7 The Magazine of the Maine Municipal Association .townsman Aalnelccisived Hosditte An Innovative aperresce 1To Munisiga Siting Standards By Randall Arendt ~ Senior PlannerSouthernMaineRPC This article presents an innovative and logical approach for towns to consider when reviewing their current regulations controlling location of new manufactured housing units.Many old approaches may no longer be appropriate,due to recently upgraded manufactured housing construction standards,not to mention the increasing variety of factory-built housing types. Ouring the last decade 18,365new~mobile homes have been pur-ghased and occupied by Maine families.This accounts fornearlyoneoutofeveryfive newhouseswithinthestate(18.7%). Herein York County,the per-centage of new homes comprisedbymanufacturedhousing(13%)was somewhat less than the state average.However,in sevensowns;25%or more of the newousingunitsbuiltduringthe1970's were mobile homesArundel,Berwick,Buxton, Lebanon,Limington,and Parsons- field). Town meetings responded to thesuddensurgeofmobilehomesbyenactingawidevarietyoflandusecontrolsdesignedtodiscouragefurtherlargeincreasesintheseunits,which havetraditionallyyieldedlowertaxrevenuesto~owns than their site-built counterparts. Although many townsreactedswiftly to the original situation,they have been lessquicktoupdatetheirordinancestoreflect | the significant changes which haveoccurredinmobilehomeconstruction standards.Since 1974,-manufactured -housing has had to meet far stricter standards than previously,which_has‘vastly improvedtheir quality,safety anddurability.(It has also increased their price so there is now a less dramaticdifferencebetweenthecostofa1,000sq.ft.modelandthecostofabasic“site-built”house with comparable floorspace.) There are probably manytowns where the existing mobile home regulations no _fonger beara defensible relationship to the - .issues of public health,safety and welfare. This was the sentiment-expressed by the. ~agislature’sJoint Standing Committee.on _..ocal and County Government,which examined the pattern of local regulation last year.A number of municipalities received a letter from this committee, requesting them to re-examine their - festrictions and change any regulations which are no longer needed or which can no lonaer be justified. units” Towns which received this letter may wish to consider the innovative andfairer approach to manufactured housing ~regulation described below.This approach wasinitially proposed by this agency,and has been refined and endorsed by a “working party”consisting of myself and the following individuals,representing a widevariety of interest and experience. Bill Livengood,an MMA attorney representing municipal and legal viewpoints. Rich Rothe,State Planning Office,who researched.and wrote the study on restrictive practices.™ Dave Preble,a representative from the Manufactured Housing Board (within the Department of Business Regulation)and John Schiavi,president of Schiavi Mobile Homes,Inc.,a manufacturer. This group reviewed and improved upon an initial concept which remained unchanged:to treat manufactured housing units according to their exterior appearance.This recognizes one of the -most commonly-expressed concerns with regard to manufactured housing:the inability to harmonize successfully with traditional site-built housing nearby (with ~attendant influences on property values). This approach also recognizes the judicial willingness to uphold aesthetic zoning which encourages me ‘“individualization of properties”and ‘ desirable harmony of sppecrance” (quoted from the Gorhanycase mentioned above).The court hasfurtherstated that “the unrestricted placement of single- (long,narrow.mobiles.and modulars)“may conceivably operate detrimentally”to a town’s ability to achieve its development goals. This approachalso resolves a very real problem common to most local mobile home regulations.The.problem arises when ordinances fail to distinguish between the wide range of manufactured housing types that are presentlyavailable. They include:| ©ModularHousing*: “Double:wide:---Single-wide (typically sD asthiidchastancesMulti-section in “T”or “L”shape Single section *Modular homes (sometimes called “sectional homes”)are.factory-built,are transportable ‘in one or more sections,do nol contain a permanentchassis,and are designedtobeplaCeSonaproperfoundation.Some look, ae overthe Nhe ey exdvrlis Vrevewsyse e Mobile formes Double wideSinglewideMulti-section in “T”or “L”shapeSinglesection|(flat roof,smooth“Old style” metalsiding,etc.)“New style”(pitched.shingleroof,clapboard siding)Because manufactured housing now comesin all sizes,shapes,andstyles,localregulationsshouldreflectthesedifferences,a “one sizefits all”approach tomunicipalordinancesisthereforeno longer appropriate.For convenient reading and application, the new approach to manufactured housing regulation has been arranged ina tabular format (see page 16).Each horizontal row identifies a differentphysicalcharacteristic(building width,roof pitch,siding material,foundations, etc.).Each vertical column represents a different type of zoning district (village, suburban,multi-family,historic,shoreland and two types of rural).This table establishesrestrictive criteria in which narrow,single-unit manufactured housing with flat or rounded roofs,metal- paneled siding,and no foundation or masonry-type skirting are allowed only inmobilehomeparks.Units which havepitchedroofswithshingleorshingle-likesurfaces,traditional house siding,and either a frost ‘wall or masonry.skirting would be allowed in the “Rural Non-Restrictive’and Multi-Family zones.In suburban Shoreland Residential districts, units would be required to beatleast 14-feet wide and to bedesigned by the manufacturer to accept “T”or “L”additions,as well as meeting the provisions for roofing,siding,and skirting required iz the Rural “Non-Restrictive”zone.The most stringent regulations would apply in the village centers and in historicareas, where the visual contrast between a manufactured home and a site-built house would probably be greatest.In suchdistrictstheminimumwidthis20feetanda “steeper roof pitch and a front wall arerequired,in addition to traditional siding and roofing materials.This is to say,if a manufactured house can be madeto look substantially like a site-built cape or ranch, it should be allowed to be located anywhere in town.(However,as one who is very concerned abouthistoric districts,I would favor evenstricter design standards te on ahy *new structures built withinofficially-designated historic districts,toensurecompatibility.):Three.advantages can be cited in-support of this approach:1)It encourages manufacturers toupgradetheirproducttoharmonizemore ‘successfully with site-built housing.| 2)It lessens the prospect of further litigation by the industry,becauseit widens the market for their ~product.inareasonablemanner.| 3)It diminishes the chances.that theStateLegislaturewouldintervenetoset This approach has deliberately been designed only as an example ofmethodologyandnotasa“model”to becopiedverbatim.If you think that this flexible approach might be something yourtownoughttoconsider,please consult the regional planning commissionin your areafortechnicalassistanceinshapingitto your needs andyour existing zoning Possible Standards forSitingVariousTypes -ordinance.If your town has not yet adopted zoning,these regulations can be incorporated.into a small “special purpose”ordinance.designedto.address your particular local situation.If you haveanysuggestionsonhowtoimproveupon this approach,contact SMRPC,Box Q,Sanford,Maine 04073. =er,3 3 statewide standards to limit the ways in me ~g :which municipalities may regulate the sees 3 g 2 sk 3 2sitingofmanufacturedhousing,of Manufactured Housing,.|2|2)|./2)2/4\3SipeapaZ2igeg)81 siediSteet|:Sc Bat Bebe BeAccordingto2}2)2)12/4]2]2]4] o :o Oo O°°og;L.eet El fe A ee BbVisualCharacter2;e/2/Slaleialal slS)e\3|e/8/8/3/318Proportions_>|A]Se mi |M4 |Oe |=|B en Minimum horizontal dimension 20’Pope Pele?Peds Pe|Pedop |opek p Minimum horizontal dimension 14’—“PRE oPrasy —Capprals Peepers @ -Minimum horizontal dimension 12’me dee Pi}-—CEP}Pepys Minimum horizontal dimension under 12’ Single Section unit designed,by manufacturer,to accept T.or L.addition ~~~~"~~~™~~~~~™*~ Appearance and Materials Minimum roofpitch of 6/12 or steeper (about 28) :Minimum roofpitch of 3/12 (about 14°) Roundedorflat roof Roofing shingle or shingle-like* Roofing smooth or corrugated surface Exterior walls of traditional site-built appearance ~U rd “J "Y dg rg rl l lo 9 ro |r , = | ~~ Exterior wallsnot of traditional site-built appearance Treatment Below Unit Frost Wall P Pesce Peal)By foePedse Ps Pix hesPe P. Grade Beam or Floating Slab (with masonry-typeskirting)—<P apoP pee Res Bos[cPeaeePe oP Gravel pad only Re,eC)Fk ee lp:ee es Construction Standards ) SPs Peet ee Ps Not certified as meeting HUD orState standards PermittedP C Not Permitted Conditional upon the narrow sections being attached in T or L shapes |'*Traditional ‘standing seam”metal roofs are permissible Criteria for Rural Restrictive Zone:moderately densely settled areas,or areas where smaller lots (1 acre or less)predominate,or areas with concentrations of traditional or significant architecture.. Criteriafor Rural Non-Restrictive Zone:faitly thinly settled areas-with lots having larger dimensions (includinglonger frontages and greater setbacks),and areas with mixed housing types with no significant architecture. DEFINITIONS Frost Wall:A masonry foundationwall extending below the ground SuETEOS)supportedbyfootings located belowthefrost-ine, to protect structures fromfrost heaves. Grade Beam:That part.of a foundation system (usually in aBuilding without a basement)which supports the exteriorwallof:the|superstructure;commonly designed asa beam which bears directly on the column footings,or maybe self-supporting.The grade beam is located at theground surface and is well-drained below.et erSee:© FloatingSlab:A reinforced concrete slab which is designed to withstand pressures both from below ‘na above. Exterior Walls of Traditional Site-Built Appearance:Siding materials such as clapboards,shingles,andshakes,including synthetic from metal. or metal siding manufactured to closelyresemble clapboards,shingles and shakes.This term shall also include masonry,wood board-and-batten,and “Texture III”exterior plywood,but shall not include artificial masonry,or fake board-and-batten made Masonry-type Skirting:This refers to concrete blocks which are arranged to resemble a foundation,butwhich are not deeisarily mortared., Mobile HomeSubdivision:A subdivision designed and intended to accommodate mobile homes,either exclusively orprimarily. Lots in such a subdivision would normally besold to individuals wishing to live there. Any such approach must be adopted to local needs and problems.This should NOT be cut out and put into your zoning ordinance. Sie FROM:2 Randall Arendt,Senior Planner DATE:‘November 19,1982 Manufactured Housing:Visual Gompatability Standards wide lots,reducing the cost of roa As we discussed at our November 16th Workshop,it probably makes little sense forthe City Zoning Ordinance to require that all types of mobile homes be © “located only in mobile home parks.The new mobile homes being made today run “the gamut from flat-roofed metal boxes,to dwellings with sloped,shingled— “roofs,clapboard"siding,and attached breezeways and garages.: In a similar vein,it also makes little sense for the City Zoning Ordinance to allow modular homes,of any shape or size to be located in any zoning district,- because some of these modulars look just like mobile homes.They have the dong,(12 or 14 feet wide),narrow "box car"appearance which does not blend — in well with surrounding site-built homes. A good solution to this dual set of problems is outlined in the attached article from the July issue of the Maine Townsman.it describes a flexible approach to manufactured housing (including both mobiles and modulars), wherein units which look substantially like site-built homes are allowed Long narrow units which have foundations,sloping shingledinmostareas.,and theroofsandtraditionalsidingwouldbeallowedinruraldistricts flat-roofed metal boxes would be confined to trailer parks. Also attached to this memo are illustrationsof fourhousedesignsutilizing the long,narrow (typically 14'x72")mobile homes in such away that they are (I feel)perfectly acceptable in any residential zone.The keyto these successful designs is to locate the unit end-on to theroad,and:toLink... it to a garage via abreezeway..A gable roof extends over both the dwelling }f,In this way the overallandthebreezeway,and connects to the garage roo width of the combined structures would be over 40 feet. Units arranged in this way have two further economicadvantages,in addition to being aesthetically pleasing.First,they can be easily sited on 75-fogt d construction and utility systems,and; making une detached single-family housing more affordable.Second,private® 2 ~2— courtyards are created behind the garages.Privacy can be assured either_by erecting fences along the lot linebetween the courtyard and the nexthouse,or by using houses which have no large windows looking onto theneighbor's courtyard.(In the mobile‘home subdivision I visited recentlyinIndiana,realtors joined forces with manufacturers to use homes whichwere"blind"(windowless)on one side,and they located the "blind"sideveryclose:to the property line on that side of the lot..abutting their neighbor'sbackyard"courtyard",,In reviewing the table or matrix in the Townsman article,I would recommendthatunitswhichare12or14feetwidebeallowedasaConditionalUseinthehigherdensityresidentialdistricts(termed "Village Residential"inthetable).The condition of approval would be that the units be located“end on;with aconnectingbreezavay and garage Linked by a common roofsystemtogiveanappearancecompatiblewithtypicalsite-builthomes.Such units may even be acceptable in the R-1 district,since their.appearancewouldbecarefullycontrolled. cc:Ronald Ayotte Tim Crowley Vol.46,No.1January,1984 MAINE The Magazine ot the Maine Municipal Association fownsman Manufactured Homes:Windham Project — ————.~——ee. By Randall Arendt A minor subdivision with manufactured homes in Windham could produce majorchangesinthewayMainetownsthink | about factory-built housing.It also shows - how townsandcities can live comfortably with the new State law requiring 14-foot wide manufactured housing “on individualhouselotsinanumberoflocationswhere single-family dwellings are allowed.” The pilot project,being built by thePortland-based Arcadia Company,has been designed toillustrate how the narrow 14°x 72°unit can be easily adapted to harmonize with almost any neighborhood. Indeed,the site selected by Arcadia is.within a typically rural area consisting of | ranches,capes and split-level homes,with several vacant houselots in between. Arcadia purchased two non-adjacent one:| acre lots in November to show how adaptable these units are,even to the pointofbeinglocatedon“in-fill”sites within |existing established neighborhoods.According to Paul Laughlin,president of .ei tia,the Windham:project will _nstrate how one can blend these ‘raditionally boxy units into almost any | ocation,with alittlebitofimaginationandcreativity.This aspect of the Windham sroject gives it a potential statewide ignificance far beyond its modestsize.In |conceptualizing the project,Laughlin , brought years of professional experience ,|in building suburban Boston homesfrom , ‘-award-winning designs,and in developing | the architecturally distinguished | Ledgewood condominiumsin Portland. —— — — . “The key to gaining broad acceptability for manufactured housing”,says Arcadia’s . president,“is to make it look as much as possible like site-built homes”.Drawing from his experience in other successful housing ventures,Laughlin uses only the “residential style’mobile or modular home,with pitched,shingled roofs andclapboardsiding.The “boxcar”look of these 14-foot wide homesis eliminated by the simple addition of an attached breezeway and garage,which completely alters their appearance.An additionalenhancementisachievedbylocatingthe homesin the best position on their lots topreserveexistingtrees,or by angling thehomessothattheyaremorevisuallyappealing,as seen from the road.(See accompanying plot plan and perspectivesketch).Besides looking good to neighbors and passers-by,the essentially “L-shaped”floor plans create very usable and semi-private “courtyard”spaces for the owners. Inspiration for this new approach to manufactured housing came_primarilyfromtwosources.One was a MAINE TOWNSMANarticle (July 1982)which encouraged towns to amendtheir zoning Randall Arendt is senior planner for the Southern Maine Regional PlanningCommission.He has contributed a numberof articles to the TOWNSMANonthe subject ofmanufacturedhousing.| laws to allow manufactured homes in various districts based upon their visual characteristics.(This approach would permit towns to restrict trailer-type units to mobile home parks,provided they also.allow residential-style homes to be located in other areas.)Arcadia’s plans were also influenced by a HUD-sponsored demonstration.project of affordablehousinginElkhart,Indiana,which showed how simple garage and breezeway attachments transformed ordinary mobile homes into residencesrivaling their site- built counter-parts in appearance. By demonstrating how affordable homes can be madeto be visually acceptable totownswithdeep-rooted preconceptions against factory-built housing,the Windham project should broaden the opportunities previously available to Maine’s low-to-moderate and middle-income residents.As towns gradually readjust their attitudes to manufactured housina,Mainers withour the financial resources to purchase new site-builthomeswilihavefutureoptionsopento them.Many people who could havequalifiedforahomemortgageinyearspast are now having to rent apartments,as the “affordability gap”between family income and homeprices has widened.According to figures recently published by the U.S. League of Savings Institutions,1978 was ,BEDROOM:|ie \. GARAGE 16222 the last year in which median family income was exactly what was needed to qualify for the median-priced home.The costs of buying one’s own home have increased faster than income,to the point where median-income families now have only 84%of the total income needed to buyanaverage-priced house (assuming that one-quarter of their earnings is spent on shelter)..Because factory-built houses cost substantially less to construct than site- built (roughly $22 versus $45 per square foot),the purchase of a standard 14’x 72’ manufactured homesaves roughly $20,000 right off the bat.A fraction of this savingscanbeimmediatelyre-invested in special features such as a_breezeway/garage attachment,where desired (or where required by local regulations in certain zoning districts).The lower construction costs of manufactured homes is attributable to economies of odulk purchasing of materials,arid the time savings of being able to work indoors sheltered from weather conditions in an efficient production system.Just as HenryFordshowedhiscompetitorsthatcars could be made faster and cheaper in a coordinated assembly fine,as opposed to the less organized approach oftraditional carriage-builders,manufactured housing plants can produce homes moreefficiently aareeeeee “LAWING RM.teeta’| TERRACE DRIVEWAY KITCHEN /DININGj4ul4 SOLARIUM exie and less expensively than can any group of sub-contractors who buy their materials piecemeal and truck them to the site individually.Although most Maine towns have no building codes to regulate stick- built housing,all factory-built units are required by federal law to meet eitherBOCAorHUDstandards. The Legislature has given municipalities until January 1,1985,to amend theirrestrictiveordinancestoallowmanufacturedhousing“in a variety of locdtions’’(see December,1983, TOWNSMAN).The July 1982TOWNSMANexplainedhowthiscouldbe done while still preserving the unique character of each municipality.And nowtheWindhamprojectprovidesaconcrete example of how factory-built homes can be successfully blended into traditional surroundings.As Arcadia‘s logo states, “We make good neighbors”,a message which speaks volumes about the future for manufactured hormes-im Maine.For ihe new style of factory-built housing is as different from the trailers of the 1960's as today’s automobile is from the horse and wagon. Townswith restrictive requlations should take a close look at Arcadia’s Windham project during 1984,when theyrevise their ordinances to comply with the new state law pertaining to manufactured housing. o-¥,