Preserving Affordable Housing: How Boulder Supports Manufactured Home Communities

Boulder is home to around 1,350 manufactured homes located in five mobile home parks, including:

• Boulder Meadows
• Mapleton
• Orchard Grove
• Vista Village
• Ponderosa

Manufactured housing is the most affordable market-rate homeownership option in Boulder. However, compared to other types of dwellings like single-family homes, condos and apartments, there are challenges to preserving this housing type.

Community members living in manufactured homes often have lower income levels. In a 2019 survey of manufactured home community residents in Boulder, three-quarters of respondents reported their incomes below $40,000 annually and 41% reported receiving Social Security Income. When considering the cost of lot rents, household expenses and essential needs, owners may struggle to reinvest in their homes over time.

Without reinvestment, the useful life of a manufactured home ranges from 30 to 50 years. Nearly two-thirds of manufactured homes in Boulder are 30 years old or older and one third are 50 years old or older. Without maintenance and energy efficiency improvements, manufactured homes are less able to withstand extreme weather and require more energy to heat and cool. Replacing older homes with newer ones is both expensive and technically complex. With these challenges in mind, the city has adopted new programs to preserve this important type of affordable housing.

"The city has a longstanding commitment to preserving manufactured housing, yet historically this housing option has been at risk. For many manufactured home owners, their home is their single largest asset and may be their only option to remain in Boulder,” said Molly Tayer, housing policy senior project manager. “Through collaborative efforts between the city, community members, and local, state and national partners, Boulder continues to safeguard access to manufactured housing in our community."

Community input has been essential to the city’s efforts to preserve this type of housing. These efforts have been guided by feedback from the communities themselves through strategic engagement and the leadership of Community Connectors. This has allowed the city to elevate community voices, emphasize community autonomy and deliver programs and services that are tailored to the unique needs within manufactured home communities.

The city first signaled its desire to preserve manufactured housing communities in 1985 with the adoption of the Mobile Home zone, and the city’s commitment to the preservation and development of manufactured housing was added to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) in the 2000 update. The next BVCP update will begin later this year; learn more on the city’s website.

In 2019, the city adopted a Manufactured Housing Strategy which established an action plan and guiding principles for lasting policy guidance around manufactured home communities in Boulder. This plan includes best practices on accountability, affordability, energy efficiency, community and viability. View the Manufactured Housing Strategy Action Plan Final Report, prepared in 2022, on the city’s website.

In 2024, City Council directed staff to both update and revisit suggested actions identified in the Manufactured Housing Strategy and Action Plan to ensure the city is addressing commitments made to support mobile home residents. The strategy includes engaging with mobile home park owners on water and sewer infrastructure, and exploring opportunities to work with park owners to upgrade failing systems. Staff will provide a full update on the Manufactured Housing Strategy in a 2025 Study Session.

Infrastructure Upgrades

The 2013 flood significantly impacted manufactured home communities adjacent to creeks, especially those with aged and insufficient infrastructure. To address concerns about water quality and aging infrastructure, in 2020 the city allocated roughly $1.7M through the Health Equity Fund to improve water infrastructure for the Ponderosa and Mapleton manufactured housing communities, which were both severely damaged by flooding.

Reducing Electricity Bills with Community Solar Gardens

In Boulder, community members with low incomes often spend more than 8% of their income on electricity and heating. The city and partners are developing solutions for income-qualified participants to reduce energy costs through subscriptions to community solar gardens, including a community solar garden for income-qualified customers of Xcel Energy in the Ponderosa Manufactured Home Community. Learn more on the city’s website.

Wildfire Mitigation Fund

The city’s Wildfire Mitigation team determined that the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park is the only city mobile home community in the Wildfire Urban Interface zone. The City Fire Mitigation Team and County Wildfire Partners have allocated grant funds to the Ponderosa community to remove debris, create defensible space and harden existing homes. Proposed fire mitigation work included in the project assessment will launch in late 2024 with vegetation removal and a community clean up. Wildfire resilience is a shared-responsibility and community level mitigation makes a significant impact for manufactured home communities.

Ponderosa Community Stabilization Project

In 2017, the City of Boulder purchased Ponderosa with plans to minimize displacement, preserve long-term affordability, replace outdated infrastructure, reduce flood risk and introduce new energy-efficient affordable housing options. This was the first time the city took ownership of an existing mobile home community.

In 2020 and 2021, infrastructure in Ponderosa was upgraded. The improvements included new sewer, water, paved streets, sidewalks, fire hydrants, gas, electric and fiber optic cable. Additional improvements to reduce flood risk included relocating the main entrance out of the High Hazard Flood Area and adding storm sewer and detention areas.

The Ponderosa stabilization project will continue to unfold over the coming decade and will provide both new foundation-built homes and preserve existing homes. In 2022, construction began on twelve new homes on the undeveloped land west of Ponderosa. Five of the twelve homes will be completed and sold in 2024, and the remaining seven homes are scheduled for completion by 2027. As Ponderosa residents purchase and move into the foundation-built homes additional infill development will occur on the vacated lots in the community. The foundation-built homes are being developed in partnership with Flatirons Habitat for Humanity and offer a mix of housing options for Ponderosa residents at an affordable price.

The city is also working with Flatirons Habitat for Humanity and the Boulder Valley School District to bring affordable modular homes to the Ponderosa community and modular housing may be useful as a home replacement option in other manufactured home communities in the future. The new modular homes coming to Ponderosa will be healthy and energy efficient, and will be permanently affordable to extremely low-, low-, moderate-, and middle-income households. Learn more about the modular homes project on the city’s website.

Since 2015, the city has invested resources to enable manufactured home community members to meet their neighbors, lift a collective voice, and encourage policy change at the city and community levels. The city’s Neighborhood Services program connects people who live in Boulder to city resources and projects.

Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners and Colorado Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners

The Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners in Boulder (C-MOB) is a community-led and city-supported space that brings people together across communities to discuss concerns and solutions. This group also functions as the Boulder chapter of the Colorado Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners, which has hosted several statewide forums to share resources, provide information and discuss actions statewide. Residents of manufactured home communities who would like to learn more about C-MOB can email cmobinfo@gmail.com.

Emergency Response Connectors

During the COVID-19 pandemic and through 2024, the city worked closely with leaders in manufactured home communities to provide resources and understand the financial, social and personal impacts of the pandemic. The Emergency Response Connectors, part of the city’s Community Connectors program, provided guidance for the city’s pandemic response at the hyper-local level and brought accurate information to their friends and neighbors so they could stay safe and make informed choices for their families. They continue to support recovery and resilience, as well as disaster preparedness.

Youth Services Initiative

The Youth Services Initiative inspires youth and families from underrepresented communities to make healthy, caring and responsible choices through recreation, health and well-being opportunities as well as life skill development.

Visit the city’s website to learn more about YSI programs.

Healthy and Resilient Mobile Homes Program

As part of the city's efforts to address wind damage associated with high wind during the Marshall Fire and to enhance community resilience to climate change, several grants are available for repairs and upgrades to mobile and manufactured homes.

The city and Boulder County are partnering to offer low- and no-cost repairs and improvements through the Healthy and Resilient Mobile Homes Program.

Neighborhood Connection Fund

The Neighborhood Connection Fund has a Manufactured Home Communities grant program that helps increase opportunities for neighbors to meet and get to know each other and enhance community resilience, healing and joy through personal connections.

Community members can use these funds to host block parties and outdoor movie nights, enhance common spaces with picnic tables, and bring people together for cultural celebrations and resource fairs.

The city has compiled a list of resources for people living in manufactured home communities. Key resources include:

• Navigation Guide: Landlord-Tenant Regulations in Chapter 10-12, “Mobile Homes” - Print Friendly
• Guía sobre las reglas para propietarios del parque, dueños de casa e inquilinos en el Capítulo 10-12, “Casas móviles” - Facilidad de impresión