Manufactured Homes Grow In Housing Options Toolbox
Release Date: October 24, 2008
Release Number: 1791-184
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AUSTIN, Texas -- Residents are moving into manufacturing housing at a faster rate, as federal, state and local officials work in partnership to ready communities for the mobile home and park models expected to make up a small part of the overall housing solution for thousands of Texans displaced by Hurricane Ike.
These partners, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Governors Division of Emergency Management (GDEM), the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and other federal, state and local agencies, have been working together since the hurricane struck in early September to help residents overwhelmed with the destruction of their homes find new lodging.
"The loss of a home is one of the most devastating things that can happen to an individual," said State Coordinating Officer Joan Haun. "The ideal situation is to keep people near their homes, but the reality is that some families may need to relocate temporarily to another area."
The safety of disaster community residents is of primary concern. Before placing someone in a manufactured home, all other reasonable housing options are explored. These include, but are not limited to:
- Funds to help an applicant with essential home repairs;
- Grants to help pay for uninsured temporary housing needs;
- Temporary sheltering in hotels and motels (Transitional Sheltering Assistance); and
- Rental assistance in a home or apartment through the Disaster Housing Assistance Program-Ike (DHAP-Ike), which is being administered for FEMA by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments network of Public Housing Authorities.
Some counties have sent letters authorizing FEMA to allow mobile homes or park models in their 100-year flood plain areas. These letters give FEMA permission to place manufactured homes temporarily in floodplains in unincorporated areas of their county. Municipalities within these counties must also submit letters to FEMA before temporary housing units can be placed in floodplain areas where such housing is normally not allowed. Many municipalities have done so.
Three types of sites are considered for manufactured housing:
- Private sites, such as on a persons property for living quarters while a home is being rebuilt;
- Commercial sites, existing mobile home parks with available pads; or
- Community sites, areas built from the ground up as new manufactured housing communities.
As of close of business Oct. 23, displaced Texans are living in 208 mobile homes. Thirteen of these are in commercial parks and 195 are on private property. More than 1,200 private sites have been or are currently being inspected, and close to 500 work orders have been issued to place homes on those sites. The first manufactured home was occupied on a private site on Sept. 26, less than two weeks after the storm.
More than 80 commercial pads are being inspected and 78 work orders have been issued to place mobile homes on those sites. There are plenty of mobile homes and park models in staging areas to meet a much higher demand.
Besides the flood plain issue, there are many other challenges that have had to be addressed before mobile homes could be placed in communities. Lack of utilities or waiting time for hookups; storm debris blocking access to damaged homes and manufactured housing sites; local ordinances needing amendments; and difficulty in locating displaced applicants are a small sample.
FEMA looked at 316 commercial parks in the affected counties and found many were outside the area of identified need, had no spaces available or were shut down. Some 48 parks have only enough pads to meet a fraction of the need.
Many of the private sites are unsuitable due to being in a flood zone, were covered with debris or were too small to accommodate a manufactured home. On the remaining sites, building inspectors must be sure work is up to code. Utility crews kept busy repairing existing utilities have considered new hookups a low priority.
To overcome these challenges, FEMA has met daily with partner agencies to streamline processes, speed up permits and work with local utility companies. Federal officials at all levels from Texas to Washington, D.C. have made the housing mission a high priority and have supported FEMA program managers in expediting the housing process.
"For those directly affected, any delay can be painful," said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Sandy Coachman. "We have to obey federal laws and local ordinances, but Ive made it clear to my staff to do whatever it takes to get the job done as quickly as possible."
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Monday, 27-Oct-2008 08:54:23