15.07.055 Conversion--Tenant assistance.
A. Impacts of Conversion and Need for Assistance for Low Income Households. Conversion of rental units or mobile/manufactured home parks to a condominium form of ownership may have significant impact to tenants who rent apartment units or spaces within a mobile/manufactured home park. Apartment renters may not be able to meet expenses associated with moving and relocation. Mobile/manufactured home owners who rent spaces are of particular concern, faced with significant challenges finding available space for location of their home in addition to significant relocation costs. Low income tenants are at particular risk of not being able to meet financial costs of displacement.
Pursuant to RCW 64.34.440 and 59.21.021, impacted individuals, with a household income below eighty percent of the median income of comparable sized household in the standard metropolitan statistical area, may qualify for assistance during conversion of apartment units or mobile/manufactured home parks.
B. Multiunit Structures with Existing Tenants. The city hereby exercises the option provided under RCW 64.34.440 to require any conversion condominium to comply with the requirements of RCW 64.34.440(6) regarding tenant relocation assistance and the requirements of RCW 64.34.440(7) for enforcement. The director or his/her designee shall work with the conversion applicant(s), housing authority, and other nonprofit housing organizations as necessary, to help coordinate the smooth transition of qualified tenants into replacement housing.
Guidelines implementing this requirement shall be developed administratively by the community development department.
C. Manufactured Home Parks and Similar Land Forms. Applications for the conversion of a manufactured home park, mobile home park or similar land form shall mitigate displacement impacts to low income tenants. To identify current impacts and provide appropriate assistance, the city will require the applicant of a manufactured or mobile home park conversion to provide an analysis of impacts.
1. Identifying Impacts and Need.
a. A current analysis (within one hundred twenty days of the application date) of the number of available spaces for location of these units within the city of Lacey and Thurston County;
b. A current analysis (within one hundred twenty days of the application date) of the relative cost of moving units from the subject site to replacement sites and applicability of the costs identified in Chapter 59.21 RCW;
c. Proposed alternative mitigation strategies if moving units are not possible. This may include:
(1) Discounts with financing on the purchase of lots once the residents’ lots are converted to condominium ownership;
(2) Purchase of the manufactured or mobile home unit at fair market value;
(3) Other strategies that mitigate the impact of loss of the resident’s housing or moving expenses.
2. Forms of Mitigation. There are generally two forms of mitigation discussed in state law for low income tenants; future rents, RCW 64.34.440(6) and relocation expenses for mobile manufactured homes, RCW 59.21.021. Both of these forms of mitigation may be used in developing a mitigation plan.
Within Chapter 59.21 RCW the state has established a program for relocation of displaced low income mobile/manufactured home owners. However, this program may have limited funds, a backlog over a year and requires outlay of expenses that will later be reimbursed. Because of these limitations it is not a guaranteed mitigation alternative for low income homeowners.
The state program for reimbursement of relocation expenses for mobile/manufactured homes should be a part of a mitigation strategy proposed by the applicant, as well as other strategies necessary to mitigate impacts.
Other mitigation actions shall include:
a. Work with low income mobile/manufactured home owners to help tenants secure loans to cover relocation expenses;
b. Coordinating work with the state and tenants to qualify for relocation assistance;
c. Helping locate areas to move homes through studies completed as part of the mitigation plan;
d. Relocation expenses for future rents as allowed under Chapter 64.34 RCW. (Ord. 1520 §35, 2017).