LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered several county department heads to bring back a report next month on the potential impacts of a senior mobile home park rent control ordinance.
The board voted 3-2 to direct reports from the County Counsel's Office, Community Development, Economic Development and Social Services be brought back by the Tuesday, Dec. 3 meeting, in order for the board to make a decision by the Dec. 10 deadline.
At that time, the board will consider its options – including whether to accept the initiative as an ordinance or to place it before county voters next June.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington and Denise Rushing, however, voted against ordering the reports, concluding that the additional information was unlikely to change their minds about putting it on the county ballot.
The group “Save Our Seniors” collected more than 2,500 valid signatures from county voters to qualify the measure for the June 2014 ballot, as Lake County News has reported.
The initiative defines a senior mobile home park as one where 80 percent of the homes have at least one person over age 55; rolls back rents to Jan. 1, 2012; and requires that rent hikes be based on the percent of Social Security benefit increases.
A similar initiative will be decided in Lakeport's next municipal election in November 2014.
Board members on Tuesday voiced concerns about legal challenges, which park owners already have hinted are on the horizon.
“Litigation is always a possibility with these things,” said County Counsel Anita Grant, who added that she needed time to analyze the document and make recommendations on the board's options.
The review, she added, is “more to inform your board as to whether the ordinance as presented is legally sufficient.”
One of the initiative's proponents, Nelson Strasser, urged the board to let the voters decide. He said 100 communities across California have adopted rent control for mobile home parks.
He said park owners are continuing to raise rents and squeeze seniors. “We're going to continue to get poorer and poorer if we don't have some kind of rent control ordinance inhibiting this curve.”
Mary Ann McQueen, who along with husband Jerry owns Northport Trailer Resort outside of Lakeport, said the Lakeport city attorney had identified legal issues with the city's initiative, yet the council chose to put it on the ballot. She encouraged the supervisors to neither put the initiative on the ballot nor accept it.
McQueen said park owners have indicated a willingness to work on long-term leases with tenants. Such a lease was created in a county process several years ago in which McQueen took part.
However, Save Ours Seniors members Heather Powers said that lease does nothing for homeowners, and protects park owners only.
Powers suggested that, with Lake County's large retiree population, senior mobile home rent control will benefit economic development and growth.
Doug Johnson of the Western Manufactured Home Community Association, referring to legal advice given to the Lakeport City Council by its attorney, said there is the option of not putting the initiative on the ballot based on the belief that it's unconstitutional.
Johnson said there are many problems with the initiative, but the main issue is there is no mechanism for park owners to seek a fair rate of return.
Farrington supported simply turning the matter over to voters and, ultimately, letting the courts decide if the initiative is constitutional or not.
Supervisor Rob Brown moved to seek the reports from the county departments, with Supervisor Jim Comstock seconding. Board Chair Jeff Smith joined them in voting for the reports, with Farrington and Rushing voting no.
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