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Resident warns council of steep, repeated rent hikes in Brookings mobile-home parks
Summary
At the May meeting, Brookings resident Luke Davidson told the council mobile-home lot rents have jumped as much as 60% and sometimes multiple times a year after parks are sold to outside owners; he urged the city to explore options despite a state statute limiting municipal rent controls.
Luke Davidson, a Brookings resident of 30 years, told the City Council during open forum that residents in some mobile-home parks face “unpredictable, excessive rent increases,” sometimes as large as 60% or occurring multiple times a year after parks change hands.
"Trailers are one of the few paths to homeownership for low income people," Davidson said, and added that moving a double-wide can cost about $20,000 — an expense most families cannot afford. He said several parks have received BMU notices that water safety cannot be guaranteed and that outside ownership groups often increase lot rents without improving services.
Davidson outlined possible local responses and asked the council to consider them despite SD 6-1-13, which he cited as prohibiting cities from controlling rent for private residential properties unless the city has a property interest. He asked whether the city could buy a park and hold rents, require one-year leases rather than month-to-month tenancies, require longer notice periods (90–180 days), require on-site local management, or enable tenants to negotiate a right of first refusal or collective purchase.
Council member Dorn thanked Davidson and urged continued conversation among council and community partners to explore options and implications. The deputy mayor noted the state statute Davidson cited and framed the next step as further local discussion rather than immediate policy action.
The comment prompted no immediate motion or formal staff directive; council members said they would continue internal conversations and discussions with economic and community partners.
