OMHA

OCEANSIDE: With rent hike denied, mobile-home park owner looks to subdivide

Residents may lose rent-control protection

OCEANSIDE —- The owners of Cavalier Mobile Estates, a large mobile-home park near the coast, intend to subdivide the property and offer the lots for sale, a move that could wipe away Oceanside’s rent-control protections there.
 
 Residents recently received a letter about the proposed conversion to a “resident-owned” community. “No one will be forced to purchase,” the letter said, while adding that “home ownership is the ‘American dream’ for a reason.”
 
 Most mobile home residents rent the land on which their units sit. By subdividing a park in what’s known as a condo conversion, park owners can sell the individual spots.
 
 Some communities embrace, even initiate, such conversions because residents are eager to own their own property, said Tim Sheahan of San Marcos, president of the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League. But “the trend in recent years has been to do it against the will of the residents, especially in rent-controlled areas, as a means to evade local rent-control ordinances.”
 
 ”Once they subdivide and convert only one home site as a ‘condo,’ then everyone loses their local rent-control protections,” Sheahan said.
 
 Low-income residents would still have state rent-control protection.
 
 Cavalier is made up of 346 mobile homes near the Interstate 5 interchange at Oceanside Boulevard. Earlier this year, the owners sough a substantial rent increase. But a city panel rejected their request, and a retired judge affirmed that decision on appeal.
 
 Under Oceanside’s rent control law, parks can raise rents each year by 75 percent of the Consumer Price Index. Cavalier’s owners argued that didn’t provide a fair return. They wanted to increase the average monthly rent to $600 from $348.
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POWAY: City wins appeal in Royal Mobile Estates suit

By GARY WARTH – gwarth@nctimes.com | Monday, July 13, 2009 7:51 PM PDT ∞

A legal battle between the Poway Royal Mobile Estates and the city may be at an end following an appellate court’s decision to allow the city to refinance the bond debt from the park’s purchase.

Poway officials and park residents have had numerous legal fights since 2004, when the city first announced its intention to sell the park. The homeowners associations at the 399-space mobile home park said they wanted to buy their park and sued when the city considered a higher offer over theirs.

The city won that lawsuit after a judge ruled it was not obligated to sell the park to the residents.

Park residents also sued the city last year about Poway’s plan to sell up to $32 million in bonds to refinance its debt from the purchase of the park. Residents argued that the sale was illegal under the state Community Redevelopment Law.

A judge ruled in the city’s favor in August, and on July 9 an appellate court upheld the earlier decision.

Poway City Attorney Lisa Foster said the ruling becomes final 30 days after it is issued, and the residents will have 10 days after that to petition the state Supreme Court if they want to continue the fight.

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12th Annual Senior Expo 2009

The 12th Annual Senior Expo to be held at the new El Corazon Senior Center.  Mark your calendar for October 3rd, 2009. 

This event is free to the public and is  great way to promote your business, group or organization.  Do not miss this opportunity to provide your service and information to Oceanside Seniors as well as the greater North County Seniors population on the day of this event.  The Senior Expo is a unique event that mixes social interaction and entertainment with useful independent living information for seniors.

Seniors, there is health screening and free flu shots.  This is the place to get yours.  I get mine every year here.  There will be great music and other entertainment and food.

 If you have not seen this new center yet this is your opportunity.  It is awesome.  There is a large area outback for outdoor entertaining with a barbecue and fireplace.  You can call the Oceanside Senior Center  at 435-5250 for more information.

To download the application click on Senior Expo Vendor Application

AB 761 – The Fight Continues

June 27, 2009

AB 761 – The Fight Continues
 
Despite the hard fought efforts of hundreds of homeowners throughout the state and a broad coalition of homeowner groups, seniors, local governments and legal services advocates, AB 761 passed the Assembly floor today.  Passage of the bill was aided by the votes of several Democratic members who had initially stayed off of the vote, including Assemblymember Portantino and Speaker Karen Bass.  In the end, 42 members voted in favor, with 37 voting no or abstaining.  An official tally of the vote will be posted on the Assembly’s website by Friday morning. It was very, very close and the disappointment is felt by everyone who has worked so hard to stop this dangerous measure. 

The bill moves now to the Senate, where it will likely be heard in Senate Judiciary and possibly Senate Transporation and Housing.  A hearing date is not yet known, though it faces significant time constraints: it must pass all policy committee(s) no later than July 10.

Now is the time to redouble our efforts to fight this attack on homeowners. We need to enlist more of our neighbors and friends from through out the state, and focus calls and letters on our Senate representatives.  If you don’t know who your Senator is you can use this form.

AB 566 Update
 
AB 566 will likely be reheard in the Senate Transporation and Housing Committee on July 7 at the regularly scheduled 1:30 hearing.  Meanwhile, please keep up your efforts to contact Senators Wolk and Simitian to urge their support for the bill.
ASSEMBLY BILLS
 
AB 481 (Ma) – OPPOSE – Not Heard in Assembly Housing, Two-year bill that may be heard in January.
Description: Would provide that a mobilehome that is not owner-occupied would not be subject to local rent controls.
 
AB 566 (Nava) – SUPPORT – Failed passage in Senate Housing.  Will be reheard June 30.  Description: Would require that the currently-mandated survey of residents of a park for slated for conversion to condominiums demonstrate that a majority of the residents support the conversion. The bill also would state that localities may enact reasonable measures to prevent sham conversions or to preserve affordable housing.
 
AB 761 (Calderon) – OPPOSE – Failed passed on the Assembly Floor (38-27). Could still be heard again on the Assembly Floor. Urge your Assemblymember to vote no. Description: Would impose “Costa-Hawkins”-style vacancy de-control restrictions on local mobilehome rent control ordinances. Upon a sale or vacancy of a mobilehome, the space rent would be set by the park, at market rate (i.e., “vacancy decontrol”). The bill would destroy billions of dollars of homeowner equity.
 
AB 869 (Mendoza) – SPONSOR – Bill will be taken up in January.  Description: Would create a program of certification for, and continuing education of, mobilehome park managers.
 
AB 1108 (Fuentes) -SUPPORT – Passed the Assembly Floor (45 to 30) and now pending in the Senate Utilities committee.  Urge your member to support.  Description: Would make various changes to requirements when electric or gas utilities are provided to mobilehome park residents and residential tenants through a master meter, including the following: (1) would allow the Public Utilities Commission to order repairs and maintenance of system; (2) Directs that the rate differential received by park owners be directed toward maintenance and repair; and (3) Would limit late fees on utility bills.

SENATE BILLS 
 
SB 23 (Padilla) – SUPPORT – Passed the Senate (36-0). Pending in the Assembly Housing Committee. Urge your Assemblymember to Support.
Description: Would require mobilehome parks to develop, implement, and post an emergency and fire safety plan; would allow cities and counties to adopt more stringent regulations.
 
SB 804 (Leno) SUPPORT – Passed the Senate (28-6). Pending in Assembly Housing. Description: Would prohibit a park from requiring a homeowner, who is replacing a mobilehome or manufactured home on a space in the park, to use a specific broker, dealer, or other person as an agent in the purchase or installation of the replacement home.
 
SB 111 (Correa) SUPPORT – Bill passed Assembly Housing (4-2) and is now pending on Assembly Floor. Urge your Assemblymember to Support.Description:  Would reorganize the MRL to clean it up and make it more user-friendly by combining certain related sections and cleaning up other portions of the code.