Ventura Tentatively OKs Change in Rent Law for Mobile Home Parks : Rent Control: The Ventura City Council acts to avoid a series of lawsuits similar to one in Santa Barbara that may cost that city $465,000.

The Ventura City Council gave preliminary support this week to a proposed change in local law that would permit the owners of mobile home parks to raise rents on individual trailers after they have been sold.

The change in the city’s mobile home rent control ordinance was approved in hopes of avoiding a series of potentially costly lawsuits by local mobile home park owners similar to one in Santa Barbara that has changed mobile home ordinances throughout California.

Drafted by City Atty. Donald S. Greenberg, the proposed change in the Ventura city law would allow the owners of trailer parks to increase rents by either 15% or $35, whichever figure is largest, on individual units sold to buyers outside the seller’s immediate family.

The proposal, which still faces final council approval, was approved in a 4-2 vote Monday night, despite opposition from some mobile home park tenants who argued that it erodes city rent-control protections.

While voicing concern for mobile home residents, council members made it clear that they felt the overriding consideration for the city is to eliminate the threat of lawsuits that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and damage awards.

“We’re buying our peace,” Councilman Richard Francis said. “I think we’ve struck a heck of a deal.”

The council vote followed a federal court decision in Los Angeles earlier this year that declared a mobile home rent control provision in Santa Barbara unconstitutional on grounds that it effectively took away the profits from mobile home park owners on sale of property.

The controversial ruling, which has led several California cities to dramatically change their mobile home park ordinances, included the award of $315,000 in damages and $150,000 in legal fees to the owners of Los Amigos Mobile Home Estates.

While some council members held out hope Monday that the ruling might eventually be overturned, Greenberg said he had been told that Santa Barbara had worked out a settlement that would preclude any appeal.

Santa Barbara City Atty. Steven A. Amerikaner confirmed that his office has proposed a settlement to the Santa Barbara City Council, in which the city would drop its appeal in exchange for waiving the damages and attorney fees.

Under the Santa Barbara settlement, the city would have to pay that money if it reimposes vacancy controls in the next decade on mobile home parks. Amerikaner said no final council action has been taken.

The Ventura City Council’s final approval of the change in the mobile home law is dependent on acceptance of the compromise package by a dozen mobile home park owners in the city.

In exchange for the opportunity to increase rents after the sale of individual units, the park owners would have to agree not to mount any legal challenges similar to that in the Santa Barbara case.

One exception in the agreement, as worked out by Greenberg, would be the owners of Ventura’s Marina Mobile Home Park, who already have filed lawsuits in state and federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Ventura mobile home rent control ordinance.

City officials said they hope the Marina park will eventually agree to a settlement. But, they added, a lawsuit by one park is still preferable to a series of lawsuits by all the parks in Ventura.