LAGUNA BEACH : Council Buys Time in Mobile Home Flap

Temporarily sidestepping the controversial issue of rent control for mobile home parks, the Laguna Beach City Council is supporting a one-year plan that would freeze rents for low-income senior citizens while allowing a 7% maximum rent increase for other park residents.

The plan was initially proposed by the owners of Treasure Island Mobile Home Park, but the City Council voted unanimously to encourage the other two parks in the city to accept it.

If the agreement can be reached before the June 5 council meeting, city officials will use the next year to develop a long-term plan for Laguna Beach’s mobile home parks.

During that year, the Planning Commission will consider specific mobile home park issues, such as whether mobile home owners should have the first opportunity to buy their parks if they go on the market and whether the city should have a relocation plan for residents if a park is sold.

“Tonight’s issue is not an issue of rent control for me,” Councilman Robert F. Gentry said Tuesday. “It’s an issue of neighborhood preservation.”

Others, however, said it is unreasonable for residents to expect special protection.

“If you can’t afford where you’re living, you should find a place where you can afford,” said Laguna Beach resident Debra Wright.

The issue of rent control for the 435 mobile home park spaces in Laguna Beach was raised largely as a result of a continuing dispute between Treasure Island Mobile Home Park and the park’s new owners.

The 27-acre oceanfront park was purchased for $40 million last August by Merrill Lynch Hubbard and Costa Mesa businessman Richard Hall, who expect to eventually close the park to make way for other development. Residents would like to someday buy the land and maintain it as a mobile home park.

If the interim measure approved Tuesday night is agreed upon, park owners who have no other tenant-lease agreement in place could then boost rents by 7%, excluding low-income seniors.

In the interim, the City Council extended a rent freeze placed on mobile home parks in December through June 5. If an agreement is not reached by then, the item will be back on the council agenda for discussion.