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Manufactured homes to get taller

By J. FERGUSON
City Hall Notebook
Thursday, August 21, 2008

Like a black swan, two-story manufactured homes were more a fable in Flagstaff than a reality. A handful exist in west Flagstaff, but they are the exception to the rule.

That was until Monday night, when a majority of the city council decided to amend the city's height restrictions and allow for 30-foot tall manufactured homes. The argument was brought to the council by local developers, who contend larger families will now be able to afford a home that has enough room for them but is on a lot less than one-eighth acre in size.

One of the developers told the council he didn't know how much the two-story units would cost because raw materials have increased dramatically in price since the two-story units were first considered two years ago. He said costs had increased by 3 percent just in the last month for some building materials.

He said two-story units would have cost between $250,000 and $300,000 two years ago for a 3-bedroom, two-bath unit on a 5,000 square-foot lot.

Not all of the council was in favor of the zoning change, with Vice Mayor Al White and Councilmember Karla Brewster voting no.

Brewster said the rest of the council had stripped away a staff recommendation that would have required developers to have greater setbacks and possibly donate 10 percent of the development to the city for affordable housing.

Memo: Don't use red pens

A delegation from South Korea came to Flagstaff earlier this week, investigating the possibility that Flagstaff could be a "sister city" to a similarly sized Korean town.

A two-page memo reveals a long list of social and cultural no-nos, including:

Don't use red pens. The memo states that writing a Korean name in red means that person is dead. "This is not recommended if you are trying to make friends."

Do not touch older people of the opposite sex.

Business cards should be accepted with both hands, read and studied before placing them in your pocket.

Women meeting with the delegation should be appropriately covered. No low-cut blouses/skirts and no skirts/dresses above the knees are acceptable.

The sister cities program serves to promote involvement and cultural understanding. Flagstaff already has sister cities in Taiwan, Russia, Mexico and Australia.

Monday meetings a thing of the past?

City officials have acknowledged that the city plans to eliminate the council work session traditionally held on Monday nights by this fall.

The decision came at the request of the Flagstaff City Council during a mini-retreat several weeks ago. Some members of the public had complained that the current system excluded public input.

Specifically, they decried a schedule that had the council voting on an important issue on Tuesday night only one day after the issue was publicly discussed before the council.

Under the new schedule, the city council will have a work session on a Tuesday night. Then on the following Tuesday, the council will formally vote on the issue. This gives the public a week to weigh in on issues important to them.

The schedule will then repeat itself on the following Tuesday.

However, many public discussions by the council usually start weeks or months in advance of a formal council vote.

For example, impact fees were first discussed during a council work session in early 2007 but a formal vote has yet to take place.

J. Ferguson can be reached at 556-2253 or jferguson@azdailysun.com.

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