omha.info - OCEANSIDE: Mobile-home park owners, residents may see higher fees

OCEANSIDE ---- Mobile-home park owners and residents benefiting from rent control may soon have to pay higher fees.

An increase to Oceanside's rent-control registration fee is under consideration at City Hall.

That annual assessment ---- $54.04 per space ---- hasn't changed since 1991.

Oceanside's mobile-home parks provide some of the city's most affordable housing, primarily because of a rent-control ordinance adopted in the mid-1980s.

The city recoups some of its administration expenses by levying fees on park owners.

They, in turn, can pass about half the cost to tenants.

The city has had to subsidize the program in recent years because fee revenue didn't cover costs, said Margery Pierce, director of neighborhood services.

To break even, she said, Oceanside would have to charge $132.32 per space.

The City Council will discuss the idea next month.

The Manufactured Home Fair Practices Commission backed it Monday.

"I think it's large," Commissioner George McNeil said. "But I don't think there's a way out. It has to be set up so that the bills are paid."

The higher fee would take effect in November. Each subsequent year, it would climb by 75 percent of the Consumer Price Index, or 8 percent, whichever is less.

For residents, the change ---- to $5.64 from $2.38 per month ---- wouldn't be dramatic.

Several told the commission they supported the idea

But park owners, already disgruntled about rent control, have bristled at the idea of paying more ---- in some cases thousands of dollars.

"Any time we pay to do this, it's money I don't have to do improvements," said Brian Alex, one of the owners of the 346-space Cavalier Mobile Estates. "My asphalt isn't getting any cheaper. My maintenance bills aren't getting cheaper."

Cavalier recently sought permission to increase its average rent by up to $252, but the commission denied the request.

The park's residents pay about $350 per month, according to a city report.

City staff said the owners already were making a fair return.

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.