San Luis Obispo County is taking another step toward safeguarding mobile-home park residents from losing their homes. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors directed planning staff to begin developing a mobile-home park overlay zone that would contain incentives for park owners to protect and preserve the county’s largest stock of affordable housing — mobile-home parks. There are 37 mobile-home parks with more than 2,600 spaces across the county. An estimated 6,000 residents, mostly individuals on fixed incomes, are estimated to live in the various mobile-home parks. About 80 percent of those residents own their homes but rent their spaces. Because many of the mobile-home parks have aging infrastructure that needs repair, the long-term viability of the much-needed, affordable residential communities is threatened, according to planning staff. In 2008, the supervisors adopted an ordinance banning the conversion or closure of any mobile-home park in the county unless, among other requirements, a park owner can prove he is suffering severe financial hardship by keeping the site open. “(An overlay zone) would be a new tool for this county,” said County Planner Ted Bench, adding the zone would give more protection to mobile-home parks. “One of the benefits ... is anything that would happen to our mobile-home parks would come to the Board of Supervisors.” A “perfect zone” would protect the mobile-home parks and have the support of the park owners, but that may not be so easy to garner, Bench said. Many of the park owners believe a new zone would create another regulatory burden for them and that the county already has enough protective ordinances in place for mobile-home parks, such as the rent control, closure and “bona fide” subdivision laws, according to Bench. “It’s just another way for the county to control us,” said Charles Knollenberg, who owns a small mobile-home park in Oceano. “We have a problem now with the closure ordinance.” Knollenberg added the county’s rent control ordinance for mobile-home parks is “unfair and outdated.” By developing an overlay zone, which could include such incentives as deferred development fees, discounted sewer and water costs and increased density, the supervisors also hope to encourage the development of additional mobile-home parks in the county. No new mobile-home parks have been built in the county in more than 25 years, according to planning staff. But David Evans, of Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association, which represents mobile-home park owners, said the county would be shooting itself in the foot by adopting more rules for park owners. “San Luis Obispo County isn’t on the short list for mobile-home park development,” Evans said. “The county is viewed as a heavy regulator. (The developers) go to other areas. The problem is the ordinance that you have on the books.” If a new zone for mobile-home parks is adopted, planning staff suggested only applying the zone to parks that aren’t deteriorating and in relatively good condition. However, the supervisors said they would like to see the zone applied to all 37 parks. Planning staff is expected to return to the supervisors within three to four months with an outline of a proposed mobile-home park overlay zone for possible approval.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.