By Mike Hazlip—
An expansive mobile home park in Citrus Heights is seeking to make room for another 20 homes, adding to the 500-plus mobile homes already located in the park.
Plans submitted to the city on behalf of Lakeview Village Mobile Home park show a five-acre parcel currently being used as RV parking would be shifted to make room for a new row of mobile homes along Hidden Brook Lane and Daisy Lane. The current RV parking area would be expanded to the east, allowing for a total of 116 parking spots, documents show.
Citrus Heights Economic Development and Communications Manager Meghan Huber told The Sentinel Thursday the proposal was reviewed by city staff, but it was “deemed incomplete.” She said additional information is required from the applicant before the proposal can go to the Planning Commission.
The Sentinel’s request for comment from Lakeview Village corporate owner, Bessire & Casenhiser, Inc., was not returned by press time Thursday.
Huber said when a hearing date has been determined, all residents of the mobile home park as well as properties within 300 feet of the site will be notified by mail.
Lakeview Village is a 55-and-up housing community located between Van Maren Lane and Interstate 80. The park was owned by the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento until it was sold in the early 2000s to help pay a $35 million settlement alleging sexual abuse by priests.
With home prices showing no sign of dropping anytime soon, mobile home ownership is becoming a more attractive option for some buyers, according to local real estate broker Beth Moran. In a recent column for The Sentinel, Moran said the mobile home market gets little attention, but sales have been increasing on par with traditional home sales.
“As prices rise and people get priced out of conventional housing these more affordable homes have a greater allure,” Moran said.
LendingTree senior economic analyst Jacob Channel told Realtor.com mobile homes are appealing to first-time home buyers. Because of their lower initial price, mobile homes offer young buyers a potential upside as prices rise at a faster rate, Channel said.
Realtor.com reports the median value of a mobile home nationally was $53,300 with a 39% increase from 2014 to 2019. In Citrus Heights, mobile homes currently on the market range in price from as low as $77,000 to over $200,000.
