Westminster : City May Cut Aid to Mobile Home Tenants

The city Planning Department is drafting an ordinance that would substantially decrease benefits to relocated mobile home park tenants.

The commission in February decided to revise the city’s strict ordinance to comply with a new state law, in effect since Jan. 1, which only requires owners to provide “reasonable relocation costs to tenants” when parks are converted to another use.

Park owners had been pushing for modification of the city ordinance because they said it made conversions economically impossible. The ordinance requires owners to either relocate tenants to a comparable park or buy their coaches at fair market value if they cannot be relocated. The Planning Department proposed eliminating the latter clause.

But mobile home park tenants, who make up 18% of the city’s population and are mostly retired seniors, said any changes could lead to a rash of conversions that would have the effect of leaving them homeless.

The panel also wants to decrease relocation benefits available to tenants who continue to live in the park after a conversion has been approved, said Don Vestal, Planning Department spokesman.

“If (tenants) move quickly they will get full relocation benefits, but if they procrastinate, there will be a progressive drop. It is to provide a financial incentive to move,” Vestal said.

At present, owners are required to relocate tenants to a comparable park within a 50-mile radius or pay them the equivalent of the move, including breakdown of a coach, transportation and reassembly. The new ordinance would change the figure to 100 miles.

The city also proposes to reduce the money paid to tenants for temporary housing while their coach is being moved. The money for each couple would decrease from $75 to $55 per day and from $25 to $15 per day for each family member.

A seven-day maximum would be imposed for the funds, which currently can be provided indefinitely. Vestal would not comment on where someone would find housing with that amount of money.

The ordinance being drafted by the Planning Department staff is expected to be voted on sometime in April.