The subject property is platted as the Windy Meadows Subdivision Unit 4, and is currently developed with 39 existing manufactured homes.

Thirteen (13) public hearing notices were mailed to surrounding property owners on February 14, 2020 in preparation of the February 26, 2020 Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting and a public hearing notice was published in the San Antonio Express on March 4, 2020 in preparation for the March 24, 2020 City Council Meeting. At the time of this staff report, staff has received zero (0) responses to the public hearing notices.

The following project representative spoke at the February 26, 2020 Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing:  

• Craig Schellbach, Development Manager, Yes Communities

The request is to rezone approximately 12.5 acres of land from Manufactured Home Park District (MHP) to Planned Development District (PDD). Under the proposed PDD Development Standards, the base zoning for the subject property will remain MHP.

It is the City’s desire to promote safe, orderly, efficient development and ensure compliance with the City’s vision of future growth.

The request is to rezone approximately 12.5 acres of land from Manufactured Home Park District (MHP) to Planned Development District (PDD). Under the proposed PDD Development Standards, the base zoning for the subject property will remain MHP. The modifications to the Unified Development Code (UDC) proposed in the PDD Development Standards are regarding Unified Development Code Section 21.6.2 Manufactured Home Parks.

The first major amendment to the UDC is to 21.6.2.C Minimum Site Requirements, regarding the regulation of the spatial relationship between the manufactured homes and other dwellings, access easements, and public Right-Of-Way. Under the current code, each manufactured home shall exist inside a designated manufactured home space/slip sized to be a minimum of sixty feet (60') by one hundred ten feet (110'). There are also specific open space requirements for the manufactured homes in relation to the
individual slip:

1. The minimum front yard setback for each manufactured home space shall be twenty-five feet (25') from the nearest corner of the manufactured home to the front line of the manufactured home space.
2. No manufactured home shall be closer than ten feet (10') from any side space line or twenty-five feet (25') to a space line adjoining a public street.
3. For other structures on each space, the minimum setback from any space line shall be at least ten feet (10').
4. The minimum distance between manufactured homes at any point shall be twenty-five feet (25').

Under the proposed PDD Development Standards, the manufactured homes will no longer be required to exist within individual spaces/slips, and instead the spatial relationships of the structures within the manufactured home park will be regulated based on three simple setbacks:

1. Each dwelling unit shall have a minimum setback of twenty feet (20') from all other dwelling units. Any structure attached to the home shall be considered a part of the home and must maintain separation distance.
2. Each dwelling unit shall have a minimum setback of fifteen feet (15') from access easements (the private 'streets' within the manufactured home park).
3. Each dwelling unit shall have a minimum setback of ten feet (10') from public Right-Of-Way and perimeter property fencing.

These specific setbacks meet all applicable building and fire code regulations and were crafted with the assistance of our Chief Building Official and Fire Marshall. The proposed setbacks focus on being concise without compromising life safety standards by removing the individual spaces/slips and just regulating the homes based on setbacks. The two major benefits of the proposed setbacks are that they're easier to understand and measure for our Building Inspectors and property owners when re-orienting homes, and they allow for much more flexibility on the part of the property owner to tailor their manufactured homes park to the residents that live there; instead of ensuring that new homeowners have a manufactured home that will fit in the existing slip that was designed for a different home, the property owner will be allowed to place the new manufactured home wherever the setbacks allow. Manufactured homes are built to be various different shapes and sizes, so the flexibility granted via the setbacks will hopefully allow for a greater variety of manufactured homes. These new regulations are not only easier to follow and more flexible for the property owner, but they more closely align with how the property exists on paper as well; all manufactured home parks are subdivision platted as one lot with access easements acting as the private streets, so it makes more sense to regulate only setbacks instead of spaces/slips that are treated as little lots. These regulations are unique to the City, and if they successfully improve the manufactured home permitting process for both the property owner and the Planning and Community Development Department then they will hopefully provide a foundation for future Unified Development Code amendments.

The second major amendment to the UDC is to 21.6.2.D, regarding the required parking within the manufactured home park. The proposed PDD Development Standards will still require a private parking pad to serve each house, consisting of two ten foot (10') x twenty foot (20') parking spaces; however, common area parking will now also be provided in the form of 32 parking spaces along Red Bud Way and Marigold Lane and 3 temporary parking spaces at the terminus of Rain Lily Lane adjacent to Future Live Oak Road. The temporary spaces will remain in effect until Live Oak Road is constructed at that location and connects to Rain Lily Lane.

The third major amendment to the UDC is the addition of 21.6.F, regarding screening and landscape buffering along Future Live Oak and Maske Road. A five foot (5') buffer shall be placed along the proposed alignment of Live Oak Road, which will include a masonry screening fence between six foot (6') and eight foot (8') in height, and various landscaping items: eight planters spaced between eighty feet (80') - one hundred feet (100') apart, each including a total of 12.5 caliper inches of trees planted with a minimum tree size of 2.5 caliper inches and 20 shrubs with a minimum size of 5 gallons each. These landscaping standards will allow the applicant to use a variety of different tree species to satisfy the requirements in each of the planting areas along Live Oak, and the grouping of the landscaping into planters spaced at varying intervals will hopefully allow the landscaping to look more natural and established. There will also be an upgraded screening fence consisting of treated lumber with top rail and masonry columns placed at maximum intervals of forty feet (40'), or a full masonry fence between six foot (6') and eight foot (8') in height. The screening fence upgrade along Maske Road will last much longer than the currently deteriorating wood vinyl fencing, and will allow the area to be properly maintained over time. 

The Comprehensive Plan, through the Future Land Use Plan, identifies the subject property as both Manufactured Housing and Single-Family Residential. The proposed rezone to Planned Development District (PDD) will have a base zoning of Manufactured Home Park (MHP), so it is also compatible with the future land use designation in the Comprehensive Plan.

None

The proposed zone change will allow for concise regulation of the spatial relationship between manufactured homes and other dwellings, access easements, and public Right-Of-Way that is unique to the City, and will also allow the City to benefit from improved landscaping and screening standards along a Residential Collector roadway featured on the Master Thoroughfare Plan. The proposed rezone is also in conformance with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the zone change by unanimous vote; Staff also recommends approval of the zone change as submitted.