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Escondido staff report all mobilehome parks filed 2024 surveys; council to consider waiving late‑filing fees
Summary
City staff told the council that annual mobile-home park surveys for 2021–2024 have been collected and posted online, that four parks had been late for 2024 (now submitted), and that staff will return with a separate item proposing waiver of administrative fees tied to earlier reporting gaps.
Escondido — City staff updated the City Council on the mobile-home park annual survey process and data, reporting that the city has received park surveys for 2024 and is preparing to post verified results online. Staff said they will bring a follow-up item for council consideration to waive administrative fees tied to late or incomplete filings during a previous period of staffing transition.
Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager Danielle Lopez and Neighborhood Services Management Analyst Carlos Cervantes presented the annual-survey overview and results. Staff said Escondido has 13 family mobile-home parks and eight senior parks. The city owns lots in two parks (Views on Valley Parkway and Mountain Shadows), holding 23 lots total (19 in Mountain Shadows and 4 in The Views).
Lopez reminded the council that Proposition K, approved by Escondido voters on June 8, 1988, established the city’s mobile-home rent control framework and that the City Council acts as the Mobile Home Rent Review Board. The board’s long-form review considers 11 factors — including CPI, comparable rents, capital improvements and operating costs — while a short-form application uses CPI only and requires specific eligibility conditions.
Cervantes described the annual park update (due Oct. 15), which collects per-park average rents, space counts and ownership data. The city sends managers multiple reminders in August and September. In 2024, the mean rent across parks reported to staff was about $620 and the median about $595; the maximum reported space rent was about $1,111. Staff noted that countywide averages for all mobile‑home spaces are higher but include non–rent‑controlled spaces.
Four parks — Imperial, Casa de Amigos, Lake Bernardo and Mobile Park West — missed the Oct. 15, 2024 deadline but were granted extensions or later submitted surveys. Staff said they do not plan to assess the $40-per-space administrative fee retroactively for 2021–2023 because records show a period of staff transition and unclear prior communication; the fee would otherwise be $40 per omitted space.
Staff said the city will post average-rent-by-park reports for 2021 through 2023 and will make the 2024 report available after data verification. The presentation included a reminder that rent-increase applications will not be accepted if required intermediate surveys are missing.
Louise Reed, vice president of EMPACT (Escondido Mobile Home Positive Action Committee), told the council the updated reporting and the staff follow-up are long-awaited and thanked staff for the progress.
Lopez said staff will return with a formal recommendation for the council to consider waiving assessed fees for missing or incomplete surveys because the department’s record-keeping during earlier staffing changes was inconsistent. If the council approves a waiver, staff emphasized, it will not set a precedent for future late filings, and the city will enforce deadlines and fees going forward.
What’s next: Staff will bring a separate agenda item for council action on whether to waive administrative fees for previously late survey filings and will publish the verified average-rent reports online for public review.
