San Leandro residents press council for stronger rent-stabilization and mobile-home protections

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. ' At the San Leandro City Council meeting on Sept. 2, dozens of residents urged the council to adopt stronger rent-stabilization rules and to amend the city's mobile-home park ordinance to protect seniors and long-term homeowners from steep space-rent increases.

Speakers at the meeting described growing displacement pressure in mobile-home communities and asked the council to act sooner rather than later. "I own my mobile home; at the end of this year I'm going to be homeless," said Chris Beebe, a senior and disabled resident who said she has owned her mobile home for 25 years. "I don't have the money to pay the space rent. Please do something."

The requests ranged from a firm cap on annual rent increases (several speakers asked that increases be capped at 3 percent) to limits on owners passing capital-repair costs onto homeowners. Mission Bay and other manufactured-home park residents urged the council to update a mobile-home ordinance they said has enabled large rent hikes and liens that could reduce homeowners'ability to sell.

"Please pass this rent stabilization ordinance and help our community thrive," said Carol Habercross, a renter who called for predictability and budgeting stability for tenants. Cheryl Knowden, representing Mission Bay residents, said the city had circulated a revised mobile-home ordinance the same morning and urged council priority on its approval.

Also during the public-comment period, speakers from the League of San Leandro Voters presented a string of ethics and misconduct allegations involving three named council members. "This is the case of the people versus Council Members Azevedo, Aguilar and Simon," said Celine Schafer, speaking on behalf of the League, and she cited independent investigations, prior censures and, in one speaker's words, a federal investigation tied to one council member. Other League speakers asked the implicated members to disclose ties and to acknowledge harms; they explicitly framed those remarks as public-comment allegations rather than council findings.

Council members did not take formal action on rent stabilization or the mobile-home ordinance during the meeting. The item remained in the public-comment phase; no vote on an ordinance was recorded that evening.

Why it matters: Speakers said immediate action is needed to prevent displacement of seniors, disabled residents and low-income households; mobile-home residents argued space-rent hikes and capital-assessment loan liens threaten long-term affordability and property equity.

What council heard: Testimony included personal accounts of threatened eviction, rapid rent increases and alleged improper owner practices, plus calls for a strong, enforceable rent-stabilization ordinance that would include clear limits on annual rent adjustments and stricter rules on passing capital costs to homeowners.

What the record shows: The council listened through an extended public-comment session; staff circulated a revised mobile-home ordinance to council that morning (speakers referenced the revised text) but no ordinance vote occurred that night. Several speakers asked the council to place the ordinance on a near-term agenda and to prioritize protections for mobile-home homeowners and tenants.

Outgoing notes: Advocates said they will continue collecting signatures, protesting and meeting with media and neighbors until the city adopts changes they consider adequate.