ROSEMEAD - The residents of Park Monterey mobile home park on Garvey Avenue saw what happened to their neighbors, and they don't want it to happen to them.
Two mobile home owners in the park were recently evicted to make way for a condominium development on the property.
The park's owners offered the evicted residents some cash for their residences and moving expenses. But those who remain say the payout was nowhere near enough. What is more, while the remaining residents face no pending eviction, they say the park is trying to push them out of their homes by raising rents 50-to-100 percent.
"This is my house, I paid my money for it. That needs to be protected," resident Gilbert Ramirez said.
The owner of Park Monterey could not be reached for comment.
Partially motivated by the situation at Park Monterey, the City Council is considering a new citywide ordinance to govern what to do with mobile home park residents when a park is being shut down and converted to another use.
On the one hand, the City Council is worried about the plight of the people who live in the city's dozen mobile home parks. Many are low income and senior citizens.
On the other hand, the council needs to consider the rights of property owners who could bring sought-after development to the city.
So far, the council is trying to split the difference.
"There are things in this ordinance for both sides to like and dislike," councilman Steven Ly said.
Under the ordinance approved by the council last week, mobile home park owners could be required to pay the costs of relocating the mobile home to a comparable park. In addition, the owners could be required to pay the difference in rent for 12 months between the old park rent and the new home.
They also could be required to pay the fair market value of the mobile home.
But "fair market" is very debatable.
That debate centers on how much a mobile home is worth. When someone purchases a mobile home already in a park, they pay more than the value of the mobile home structure.
For example, Ramirez paid $30,000 for his home. But the value of the actual structure is probably less than $10,000.
So when a mobile home park closes, how much should the park owner pay - the value of the structure, or the in-place value?
Leah Simon-Weisberg, associate director of the Eviction Defense Network, says paying anything but the in-place value wipes out people's investments.
"You are forcing a foreclosure for them," she said.
But Craig Denton, owner of Del Rey mobile home park, said paying in-place value essentially requires the park owner to buy back property they already own.
"It is not fair that park owners essentially have to buy back their park by having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy all the trailers in the park and, on top of that, pay tens of thousands in relocation costs as well as pay top dollar for what may be a 30-50 year old trailer that is a depreciating asset," he said.
The costs could get so high, they would prevent mobile home park owners from actually closing the park for redevelopment, according to David Evans, representative of Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association.
"Unless you are Bill Gates or Warren Buffet you are not going to close that park," he said.
While this may be what residents want, cities may end up with their hands tied when they want to close a park to make way for new development, Evans said.
"Sometimes... the little trailer parks need to be closed. They have served their usefulness. They get to the point they are not aesthetically pleasing to the community," he said.
So far, the council has sided with park owners. The ordinance specifies that fair market value "does not include any in-place value."
Councilman Steven Ly said the council's decision was largely dictated by advice from the city attorney, who told them recent court rulings suggested in-place value would not hold up in court.
However, the ordinance must be approved for a second reading, and mobile home residents are hoping they can change the council's mind before then.
Ramirez and the other residents of Park Monterey are not facing any pending eviction. Only if the condo development planned for the front portion of the property enters a second phase are they threatened. And a second phase is only an idea. No official plans have been submitted to the city.
Likewise, no other mobile home parks in the city have submitted development plans. But many made inquiries back when the economy was good, according to city staff.
And what happens in the meantime is what has residents worried. They say their rents are skyrocketing in an effort to get them to move out, which would leave their landlord free of paying all the relocation costs.
Ramirez has seen his rent increase from $410 to $859 since he moved into the park five years ago. The rent of his neighbor is a few dollars short of $1,000.
"I feel so bad, this is just an abuse," Ramirez said.
Since he has made an investment in his trailer, he can't just move.
And with development plans pending, the value of his trailer in the park has plummeted.
Ninety-one-year-old resident Estelle Rudner knows that all too well. She is trying to sell her home to move to Illinois. With her husband having passed away, and no remaining family in California, she is moving in with her last remaining cousin.
She is asking for $5,000 for the mobile home, and still has had hardly any interest in it.
"I'm just going to have to sell it to the park owner," she said.
"It's okay. I'm ready to leave here. It's time to leave here," she said.
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