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Mobile-home residents urge immediate moratorium as county RSO process continues
Summary
Residents and advocates told the Lake County Board of Supervisors that corporate park owners have begun imposing large fee increases while the county’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) ad hoc committee works, urging a temporary retroactive moratorium and faster action to protect seniors and low-income homeowners.
Residents and advocacy groups pressed the Lake County Board of Supervisors on April 28 to adopt an immediate temporary moratorium on mobile-home park fee increases while the county’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) ad hoc committee completes its work.
Hillary Mosher, regional manager for the Golden State Manufactured Homeowners League, commended the RSO committee’s draft protections but warned the process is taking too long. "You must realize that these park owners are taking advantage of your current lack of action by imposing increased rents and fees in the interim," she said, citing Sterling Shores’ $60 monthly retroactive pass-through and urging a moratorium retroactive to January.
David Berry, a volunteer associate manager for the same league, repeated the call and urged supervisors to place a temporary fee-increase moratorium on the agenda: "Otherwise, by the time you finally enact the RSO, you will have failed to protect this important source of affordable housing from becoming unaffordable." He and other speakers noted that other Bay Area cities and counties already have mobile-home rent protections and asked Lake County to follow suit.
Speakers at the meeting described sharp increases that disproportionately affect seniors and fixed-income residents. A Save Our Shelter representative told the board that Lake County ranks among California’s lowest-income counties and urged an emergency moratorium so seniors and long-term residents would not be forced to leave homes they cannot afford to move from.
Tom Flanagan, a Sterling Shores resident, said his park experienced a 12% increase and that residents have no effective way to stop pass-through fees: "You're the only ones that have that power." Justin Brader, a Fairground Village resident, and other commenters reported similar rent spikes and said rising costs are forcing long-term residents out of their homes.
Board members acknowledged the urgency raised by public commenters but did not adopt a moratorium during the April 28 meeting. Instead, supervisors signaled support for further analysis: several asked staff to compile comparative ordinances and fee structures from other jurisdictions and said they want a consultant review of fee and regulatory options for community development permitting before taking final action on related technical issues.
What’s next: The RSO ad hoc committee continues its work and the board indicated it would consider placing measures on a future agenda; no formal moratorium was adopted at the April 28 meeting.
