With an lack of affordable housing availability that housing officials say borders on a crisis, Gary Knight of Bend, Oregon wants to develop ten acres into a manufactured housing community (MHC) if the Deschutes County Planning Commission will change the development code and allow for rezoning. The owner of Juniper Mobile Park, which sits adjacent to Knight’s property, is a co-petitioner to the zoning change which will allow him to expand beyond the 53 current existing homesites, according to bendbulletin.com. The planning commission in Bend, Oregon was told by county community development Director Nick Lelack at a Bend Chamber of Commerce meeting, “One of most critical issues that came up was affordable housing and the acknowledgment that government can’t be the entity that solves it.” Senior planner Paul Blikstad says the affordable housing crunch has worsened in recent years, noting during the housing boom from 2003 to 2007 several MHCs were leveled to repurpose the land for higher-end housing that never happened because of the real estate crash, as MHProNews understands. ##

(Photo credit: Tri-Star Estates manufactured home community)