Final- Appendix_A_In_Depth_Guide_for_Local_Land_Use_Officials_2M

Appendix A: In-Depth Interview Guide for LOCAL LAND USE PLANNING OFFICIALS

Opening

Interviewer: Introduce self and any/all notetakers on the line (if applicable), provide organization name, and thank respondent for their time. Give an overview of the process (for example, “I’ll start by reading a little bit of background information and consent, and make sure we cover any questions before starting”).

Ask whether the respondent has any questions before beginning the interview.

Oral Informed Consent

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today as a part of the research that 2M Research is conducting for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

As I mentioned, I am [interviewer name] from 2M Research and I have with me [notetaker name], also of 2M Research, who will be taking notes during the interview. Our discussion should last approximately 45 minutes. There are no right or wrong answers, and you can refuse to answer any questions you do not want to answer. Your participation in this interview is voluntary, and you may stop participating at any time. At a later point, we will explicitly ask you for permission to record the interview There will be no negative consequences if you choose to stop participating, or choose not to have the conversation recorded or if you choose not to participate at all.

The purpose of this interview is to learn more about regulatory barriers and drivers you may be aware of that relate to the financing, siting, and development of factory-built housing systems in your community. Factory-built housing is housing that is manufactured in factories or other off-site facilities. Types of factory-built housing include modular homes, panelized building systems, and manufactured, or HUD Code, homes. 2M and HUD will use the information from these interviews to inform emerging, promising practices that help make factory-built housing better support the great need for an affordable housing mix within communities.

During this interview, we would like to discuss barriers you or developers in your community have encountered related to financing and siting factory-built housing, ways you have overcome these barriers, and any recommendations you may have for other communities facing similar circumstances. While these barriers may vary, a general way to define them is any rule or policy that is more burdensome on factory-built homes compared to conventional site-built homes. Such barriers could take the form of land use regulations, zoning, or administrative requirements that may hinder the development of factory-built housing in the community.

This study may include site visits to locations selected for case studies. We may contact you again for additional feedback for that second phase of data collection.

All information you share will be treated in a secure manner and will not be disclosed, unless otherwise compelled by law, to those outside of 2M and HUD until final reports and/or case studies are published.

There are minimal risks to those who participate. The benefit of participating in this study is that your organization’s experiences will help HUD and other policy makers understand the types of successes and barriers you and your organization have faced.

If you have questions about this study after this interview, please email Mary Ann Latter, the study’s project director, at [email protected].

Before we begin, we would like to have your permission to audio record our discussion so that we can ensure our notes are accurate and complete. The audio recordings will be deleted once we complete the project in August 2021.

May we audio record this conversation?

□ Yes
□ No

Do you have any other questions before we begin?

Discussion Guide

interviewer: uppercase red text is instructions to the interviewer.

Respondent Background

Thank you for agreeing to speak with me. First, I’d like to get a better understanding of your role. We are interested in learning what your role means in terms of day-to-day activities, as well as learning your role in approving, developing, siting, and financing, if appropriate, factory-built housing units in your community.

Respondent Background	Discussion Points	Probes
	Q.1. Please tell me a little about yourself, your background, and your role within [organization name].	How long have you worked with [organization name]? Have you spent all your time with [organization] in this role? [IF NO:] How has your role changed since working for [organization name]? Please describe your responsibilities as they relate to factory-built housing or housing that is manufactured off site.

Process (Barriers and Successes)

I understand that you have factory-built housing in your community, and I’d like to get a clearer picture of how the process of siting worked, how you were able to overcome any barriers, and successes you encountered during the process.

	Discussion Points	Probes
	Individual Home Siting First, I would like us to focus on the siting process for different types of factory-built housing units in your community. By “siting process”, I mean the rules and procedures that determine which potential building lots can be developed or redeveloped with factory-built housing products.
Process (Barriers and Successes)	Q.2. Could you provide examples of neighborhoods in your community where individual or multifamily factory-built housing units have been sited? How recently have homes been sited in these neighborhoods?	PROBE ABOUT ALL TYPES Manufactured homes (also called HUD code) Modular homes Factory-built accessory dwelling units (ADUs) Shipping container homes Factory-built tiny homes Panelized homes Are these homes spread across different neighborhoods or concentrated in only some neighborhoods? Do you have any thoughts on why this is the case? What kind of neighborhoods are they? Single family? Multi-family? Mixed use residential? Are they used as infill as well? What market segment do these units serve? Affordable? High end?
	Q.3. Can you please give a brief overview of the process that builders must follow to get this type of housing sited and built? How are these processes similar to or different from conventional site-built homes?	Are special permits needed? Community approval? Are there design standards that must be met? In other words, are there regulatory requirements for how the home must look, like roof pitch requirements? [Probe for Manufactured Homes] To be approved for siting, does the home have to be on a permanent foundation? Is the permitting process different for factory-built homes than for site-built homes? Are these processes/regulations determined at the city level or the state level?
	Q.4. What were some of the barriers the city or the developer encountered while getting factory-built housing (multifamily or single-family) through the city’s development process? How were these barriers overcome?	Describe any barriers related to the following: Policy and/or regulatory restrictions or changes (Example: barriers related to administrative processes, special permits, fees, design standards, plot size) Community resistance/backlash Others: Restrictive covenants on the land) Were there difficulties that would not occur with conventional site-built homes? Are there issues related to site planning and land acquisition compared to those of site-built homes? How do these barriers impact the cost of factory-built housing?
Process (Barriers and Successes)	Q.5. Are there any special programs to encourage the adoption of factory-built housing in the community?	Grants, special programs Community outreach efforts to increase awareness Adoption of factory-built housing as an affordable housing option
	Q.6. Can you tell me about any financial barriers to the siting of factory-built housing units that you are aware of?	How are the different types of factory-built housing titled? (Example: personal property or real estate property) Are the titling laws determined at the city level or state level? Any other financial barriers different from those for site-built constructions. (Example: Loan availability? Loan terms different from loan terms for site-built homes?) How does this barrier impact the adoption of factory-built housing as an affordable housing option?
	Manufactured Home Developments Next, I would like to discuss manufactured home (HUD Code) developments/manufactured home parks.
	Q.7. Does your community have manufactured home parks (or special subdivisions dedicated to manufactured home parks)?
	Q.8. [IF YES IN Q7]: Can you describe one to three manufactured housing developments in your community? How long ago were those built? What is the most recently approved manufactured home park in your community? Have any manufactured home parks closed recently (over the last 10 years), and if so, why?	Approximately how many manufactured home parks? What proportion of the cities’ residents live in manufactured housing developments? What are the general ownership arrangements? Do residents own their lots or rent them? Do residents own or rent the manufactured homes? Are any of these parks resident-owned communities (Or ROCs)? Resident owned communities are parks where the land is community-owned and managed through a cooperative of residents. [IF RESIDENT-OWNED COMMUNITIES EXIST]: Could you talk to me about the residents at these ROCs and the process that led to the park being an ROC? Are the parks scattered geographically or clustered in certain areas? If the latter, why? (Example: Zoning requirements, lack of builder interest, NIMBYism, labor and construction costs) Are all manufactured homes required to be located in manufactured/mobile home parks? If so, why?
	Q.9. Can you please give a brief overview of the process and steps to getting a manufactured home park built in your community?	Applications? Public hearings?
	Q.10. What were some of the barriers the city or the developer encountered while getting this development through the city’s development process? How were these barriers overcome?	Describe any barriers related to the following: Policy and/or regulatory restrictions Policy and/or regulatory changes Community resistance/backlash Others
	Q.11. If a manufactured home development were proposed today, could it still be built? Why?	What would the approval process look like? Would it be easier or more difficult to complete?
	Q.12. Can you tell me about any financial barriers that you were aware of? How were these barriers overcome?	Financial barriers the developer might have encountered Financial barriers faced by the residents How are the homes in manufactured home parks titled (personal property or real property)? Do you know if this impacts the financing options available?
	Strategies or Policy Interventions to Reduce Regulatory Barriers Next, I would like to discuss recent changes to building and zoning codes and the processes required to make those changes.
	Q.13. Tell me about the last time your city had a significant revision of its zoning and building codes related to factory-built housing, what changes were made, and the process followed to make those changes.	Could you give me a brief overview of the process followed to make these changes? Were the changes driven by local-level or state-level directives? What is the process to adopt state-level changes? Are revised codes based on any particular industry models? (Example: International Residential Code)
	Q.14. How would you characterize your current zoning plan in its ability to accommodate factory-built (multi-family and single-family) housing in general and as an affordable housing option?	What would you say is the biggest barrier to factory-built housing being affordable for lower-income households? (Example: Lot size restrictions, setback requirements, permit fees) What about multifamily structures? (Example: Builder interest)

Lessons Learned and Recommendations

Finally, I would like to talk about successes, lessons learned, and recommendations regarding the utilization of factory-built housing.

Lessons Learned and Recommendations	Discussion Points	Probes
	Q.15. What aspects of the process of siting factory-built housing in your community do you believe were particularly successful and why?	Describe any successes related to the following: Policy Siting and development Community support Describe any special programs to incentivize the adoption of factory-built housing (HUD Code homes, modular housing, factory-built tiny homes, ADUs, container homes, and panelized building systems) Which aspects do you believe were truly critical to success in your community and would need to occur for other communities to be able to replicate this process?
	Q.16. What have been some of the lessons learned during the process of siting factory-built housing in your community?
	Q.17. What policy recommendations do you have for planners; and local, state, and federal decision-makers to encourage the adoption of factory-built housing in communities?	Policies for increasing awareness/education for consumers? Policies to encourage developers to utilize factory-built housing?

That completes our interview. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today. Thank you again!

Interviewer and Notetaker Notes

The notetaker will be sure to capture data that contextualizes the transcript or notes, including the emotional registers of participant responses.

OMB Control Number 2528-XXXX

Expiration Date XX/XX/XXXX