The manufactured buildings parked outside a few packed-to-the-gills churches and Andover High School were meant to be temporary. But many have been there for years.

Even as three local churches successfully got permits to extend their use of the portable classrooms, Andover Mayor Julie Trude and a majority of the City Council are sending a message: Plan ahead, because city leaders want them phased out.

"We want you to have a long-term plan to add an addition to the building," Trude said. "Some of it is public safety, and some is appearance in the community."

Trude said the city first allowed portable classrooms a decade ago to accommodate a wave of new families.

"We've had these portables beside schools and churches to help with periods of rapid growth. We added 10,000 people in 10 years. Everyone was dealing with that surge of children," Trude said. "We still have more children than adults in our community."

But the portables detract from the streetscape and the image of the community, the mayor said. They can quickly fall into disrepair, and Trude said they're perhaps not the best long-term environment for families and children.

They're drafty. They can deteriorate quickly. They are not soundproof, so people inside them can often hear outside traffic and noise.

Trude, whose children attended public schools, said she's heard stories of teachers and children overwhelmed by mold in the portable classrooms. She also heard of a teacher slipping and breaking an arm while venturing outside to a portable classroom in winter.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District, which a few years back had nearly 100 portable classrooms districtwide that accommodated 3,000 students, has worked to phase out many of its trailer classrooms. They still remain at Andover High School.

Apart from the safety aspects, the portable classrooms just don't measure up to the aesthetics of one of Anoka County's most well-heeled suburbs, Trude said.

Andover, population 32,000, has the second-highest median household income in the county at $93,314, according to U.S. census data. (Lino Lakes ranks first at $103,407.)

There are currently no manufactured homes in Andover. In fact, the median housing value in the city is $234,700, nearly $50,000 higher than the county median. About 55 percent of homes in the community have four or more bedrooms.

Not everyone is in agreement on trailers. City Council Member Jim Goodrich has said at meetings that Andover should not infringe on property rights.

In the past year, the city did renew temporary permits for existing portables at Grace Lutheran Church, Andover Christian Church and Meadow Creek Church. The portables at the local high school are grandfathered in, Trude said.

But she said she'd hesitate to approve any new trailer use or extensions after the final extensions run out.

"We are going to be reasonable, but we don't want to see this as a permanent feature in our community," Trude said.

Shannon Prather • 612-673-4804