Santa Paula council agrees to workshop after residents seek updates to 1992 mobile‑home rent ordinance

Residents from multiple mobile‑home parks urged the City Council to update Santa Paula’s mobile‑home rent stabilization ordinance and to hold a dedicated workshop so homeowners can participate in drafting changes.

Tiffany Orr, vice president of the residents association at 400 Mobile Estates, described long ties to the park and asked for protections beyond the current ordinance: “My home is a trailer, but it is not an RV … My home is paid for. I don't have a mortgage. That's because I've lived there for 33 years.” She and other speakers said residents pay monthly space rent in addition to home‑purchase payments and that sudden or repeated park rent applications put older and fixed‑income homeowners at risk.

Multiple homeowners described a recent rent application by a park owner seeking a multi‑decade high increase; residents said the owner submitted a second application two days after the first was denied. Victor Partida, a homeowner and member of CAUSA, said the ordinance contains “ambiguities and loopholes that can be exploited.”

City staff and the city attorney said the municipal code update project includes a review of the mobile‑home ordinance and that changes will require statutorily required notice and process. Council members agreed a dedicated workshop would be the appropriate next step; staff will schedule a workshop, invite stakeholders and subject‑matter experts, and return to the council with the community’s input and recommended next steps.

No changes to the ordinance were adopted at the meeting; any legal amendments or spending would require further council action.