BY PEPPER FISHER

Sequim – The Sequim City Council on Monday approved a new ordinance that protects existing mobile home parks from being purchased by developers, evicting tenants and using the properties for something else.

The wording of the new zoning overlay aims “to preserve existing manufactured and mobile home parks located within the city limits as a source of affordable housing in Sequim”. It’s good news to tenants of these properties who felt they were in danger of being driven out by new landlords.

Sequim’s Community and Economic Develop Director Lindsey Sehmel one of the principals in developing the new zoning overlay, is pleased with the outcome and the role the public played in getting it done.

“We had a really good turnout. We sent out an additional, almost 500 public notices to all of the tenants and property owners in the city-wide rezone, at the request of city council. And it was a very fulfilling public engagement process.”

The City is limited on what it can do to help keep people in their homes in this case. For instance, Sehmel says that although the City has now preserved the properties as affordable housing going forward, the new ordinance can’t keep landlords from raising rents and potentially pricing some people out.

“Under current state law, it was unclear if the City of Sequim would have been allowed to move forward with something more stringent, like rent control. And I do believe that the legislators are still considering something along those lines for manufactured mobile home parks.”

The new zoning ordinance should go into effect by the end of this year.