Residents of Hillside Lane and Cadillac Lane seem unconcerned about a manufactured home in their neighborhood. 

McMinnville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen received a rezoning request in May from a Hillside Lane property owner. The request was to reclassify property from R-1 to R-4. Their intent is to place a manufactured home there and R-1 restrictions do not allow it, but R-4 does. 

Officials hesitated and voiced concerns that most of the neighborhood is R-1, that a manufactured home would be in the midst of site-built homes, and that neighbors might not be aware of the homeowners’ intent. The measure was tabled in order to allow more time for notification. 

According to Community Development Department director David Baird this month, notification was increased but no complaints were received. 

“It’s actually what we call a split lot,” said Baird, who took officials back through the request. “The front portion of the property is actually R-4 today. The applicants are requesting for the whole property to be rezoned to R-4.”

Alderman Steve Harvey reiterated concerns for the residents on Cadillac Lane, because the manufactured home will be visible from that street as well, “It may not matter to those people. I don’t know, but that was the issue for me.”

Baird says a fence exists along the backside of the Hillside Lane property that would provide “pretty significant screening” to block the view.

Most communities use zoning districts as barriers to restrict where manufactured homes can be located. Within the city of McMinnville, they are only allowed within the R-4 District. 

R-4 also allows multifamily housing to be constructed, which was expressed as another area of concern for approving the request. 

“Multi-family dwellings are allowed in R-4,” said Baird. “Someone would be allowed to build a multi-family dwelling on it. That is a valid concern.”

Alderman Everett Brock suggested consideration be given to changing the city’s Zoning Guidelines and removing wording that allows multi-family dwellings in R-4.

“Most communities that have a manufactured home district do not permit multi-family in that district,” said Baird. 

Brock replied, “It makes me uncomfortable to do this.”

A meeting of the McMinnville Regional Planning Commission will be scheduled to review and make a recommendation to the board on revising the guidelines. 

The measure to rezone the Hillside Lane property was deferred until that change in the city’s Zoning Guidelines can be considered.