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Board keeps annual mobile‑home space fee low, declines to pass recent hearing costs to tenants
Summary
The board set the annual mobile‑home space registration fee to cover routine administration (about $11 per space) and opted not to require tenants and park owners to fund the one‑time costs of a complex fair‑rate‑of‑return hearing that drove a higher, temporary fee option; supervisors said the ordinance protects long‑term residents and that extraordinary litigation costs should not be shifted to low‑income tenants.
Tuolumne County supervisors on May 12 set the annual mobile‑home space registration fee at the lower operating level rather than passing recent fair‑rate‑hearing consultant and legal costs through to tenants and park owners.
Staff presented two options: an annual fee that covers program administration (~$11 per space) or a one‑year elevated fee (approximately $77) that would include the county’s costs for the recent fair‑rate‑of‑return application and hearing. Housing division staff explained that fair‑rate proceedings produce voluminous work and consultants and that those extraordinary costs could be added to the annual fee per the ordinance, but that doing so would raise the tenant share for the ensuing year.
Supervisors and a mobile‑home resident who spoke agreed the ordinance provides important tenant protections and that tenants are often on limited incomes. Several supervisors argued the county should not shift large litigation or consultant costs to residents for a single contested proceeding and that the county should cover such extraordinary expenses when necessary. The board voted to set the upcoming year’s registration fee at the lower administrative amount and asked staff to monitor future fair‑rate needs and provide options for cost recovery that avoid undue hardship to tenants.
What’s next: The county will continue to administer the rent‑control ordinance and staff said future fair‑rate proceedings would be handled on a case‑by‑case basis; the space fee will continue to be reviewed annually.
