Mobile Home Renters Object to Conversion to Ownership

Saturday, December 27, 2008
Neil Nisperos
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Some residents at the Lamplighter mobile home park are afraid they won't be able to afford the cost of staying in their own neighborhood.

This could happen, they say, if the park's owners succeed in their bid to subdivide and convert the park from rental lots to ownership lots.

"There are a lot of people in this park who are elderly and some of these people hardly have money to eat on," said resident George Klotz, a former Montclair City Council member and past Lamplighter Home Owners Association president.

Meanwhile, the Santa Monica-based law firm representing Lamplighter said it will soon begin legal action against the city after Chino leaders recently passed an ordinance that attorneys for the park owners say hinders the conversion bid.

"First of all, the ordinance ... is clearly illegal," said attorney Richard Close, of the firm Gilchrist and Rutter, which is representing the mobile home park.

"The issues have been litigated by us throughout the state, so we are confident that the courts will set aside the approval (of the ordinance) that occurred ... What's unfortunate is this action has put the taxpayers of Chino at great risk."

Officials said the ordinance ensures that conversions of mobile home parks in Chino to resident ownership are "bona fide" conversions, which means conversions would need at least 51 percent of support from current residents of the park.

Klotz said a recent poll conducted at Lamplighter found 95 percent of the parks residents are opposed to an ownership conversion plan, citing how financially infeasible it would be for the park's low-income residents to own their properties.

Close said his firm will file a damage action within the next 45 days against the city for passing the ordinance.

"In other jurisdictions, we're talking about the $14 (million) to $30 million dollar range," Close said of possible damages.

Attorneys for the Lamplighter park said upon completion of the conversion process, no residents would be evicted and residents could choose to either buy their lots or to continue renting.

Klotz, who is familiar with the conversion plans, said the no-eviction situation would be temporary for a period of about 10 years, after which residents would have to buy the property or be evicted.

City officials say the goal of the ordinance was "to promote the lawful purposes of preserving affording housing within mobile home parks, while providing opportunities for resident ownership wherever feasible and appropriate."

Chino leaders said mobile home park conversions should afford realistic opportunities for park residents to purchase the land on which their homes are located. According to a city report, such resident-initiated conversions can be challenging in places like Chino, where land values are high and beyond the financial reach of most park residents.

Officials said the ordinance aims to preserve affordable housing in the city and mobile home parks, and to protect other residents who may want to continue to rent their homes in the park into the future.

Presently, there are five mobile home parks in Chino with 552 home spaces. Lamplighter contains about 260 mobile homes.

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