Meadow Pointe residents urge Lake County supervisors to adopt mobile-home rent-stabilization ordinance after Harmony Communities notice

Dozens of Meadow Pointe mobile-home park residents told the Lake County Board of Supervisors during the meeting’s public-input period that a recent notice from Harmony Communities raising space rents will force seniors and low-income families into homelessness, and they urged supervisors to finalize and adopt a draft mobile-home rent-stabilization ordinance.

Residents said the park’s owner sent a letter indicating space rents would rise to $950 and that Harmony plans to apply $350 “credits” tied to promised road and water repairs. "They're gonna give us $350 credits...but now this is their plan," said Jeff Price, a Meadow Pointe resident. Price and other residents said many tenants live on fixed incomes and could not absorb the increases.

The matter has moved beyond individual complaints: community members repeatedly asked the board to conclude the draft ordinance that would limit annual increases and otherwise protect park residents. "This is a beautiful thing that you hammered out but didn't ratify regarding mobile home park rent ordinance stabilization," said Lisa Wiley, who said she was speaking on behalf of Meadow Pointe residents. Tom Lasik, a local resident who addressed the supervisors, thanked Chair Crandall "for bringing that ordinance to the board" and for forming a subcommittee to work on it.

Why it matters: speakers described a mix of seniors, working families and children living in the park and said sudden space-rent hikes threaten housing stability. "They're gonna have to pay something they can't afford," said Lisa Wiley. Several speakers said some tenants receive Social Security or SSI checks in amounts many times lower than the proposed increases.

What residents told supervisors: multiple commenters described repeated rent adjustments over the past year and said a recent communication from the park was internally inconsistent. "The letter is really deceiving," said Tina Fouch, who said the notice both described a credit account and listed different dollar figures on separate pages.

Others emphasized community and interdependence within the park. "We take care of each other. They drive each other to doctor's appointments," said Catherine Passaccio, a resident of more than 40 years.

What the board has done so far: at least one speaker — Tom Lasik — thanked Chair Crandall for introducing a rent-stabilization ordinance and said a subcommittee was formed to continue work on the measure. No formal vote or final action on the ordinance took place during the public-input period recorded in the transcript.

What residents asked next: speakers requested the board move quickly to finalize and adopt rent-stabilization protections for mobile-home parks, and they urged county leaders to investigate Harmony Communities’ practices and the legality and transparency of rent-credit arrangements described in the company’s letter.

The public-comments segment closed with supervisors hearing multiple firsthand accounts but no immediate policy decision recorded in the transcript. Residents said they will continue to press the board to act in subsequent meetings.