Residents urge city action after mass towing and rent spikes at local mobile-home parks

Dozens of residents of local mobile-home parks told the Poulsbo City Council on Dec. 4 about sudden towings, steep rent increases and language-access problems that left many households feeling frightened and without transportation.

"The rent has doubled to $950 to $1,000 a month," Carolyn Simmers told the council, saying the park has 76 mobile homes and about 300 residents. Melissa Totten said her rent rose from $745 to $1,363.36 after the park’s sale. Several Spanish-speaking residents said cars were towed without notice and that managers provided paperwork only in English.

Speakers repeatedly asked the council to adopt renter-protection measures and to issue a formal statement confirming compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act, a state law that limits local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Charlie McCabe presented the law’s key provisions and asked Poulsbo to publicly confirm enforcement.

Mayor Erickson and councilmembers said staff had already engaged after the towing incident and credited a recent rapid response—calling out the manager’s early towings as a mistake and saying owners agreed to rent credits for affected households. Finance and housing staff also briefed the council on possible responses: Kim (housing staff) and Deb (finance) described existing partnerships (including Fishline) and proposed setting aside $50,000 as a rental-assistance reserve to be deployed with a community partner if displacement risk continues.

Councilmembers emphasized multiple next steps: (1) staff research of legal options and program eligibility, (2) outreach and translation services for affected residents, and (3) coordination with nonprofit partners to administer rent assistance. "We want to keep people safe and secure and happy in their homes," Mayor Erickson said.

The city agreed to pursue options and return with specifics; no ordinance was adopted at the Dec. 4 meeting.