ANAHEIM : Mobile Home Park Rent Freeze Asked

Angry residents of the Orange Tree mobile home park this week asked the City Council to impose a rent freeze until an agreement can be worked out with the park’s owner.

“We’d like to see a freeze until we can get this guy under control,” said Mike Johnson, president of the Orange Tree Homeowners Assn., about landlord Jack Stanaland. “He has the right to his property, but he’s being totally unreasonable.”

At issue is a nearly $200 monthly rent increase slated for August for about 100 residents who rent on a month-to-month basis instead of signing a 10-year lease. Renters say the increase is an attempt to force them into the long-term leases, which many do not want. Stanaland argues that the request for a temporary freeze is an attempt to institute rent control.

Stanaland, president of Campanula Properties that owns the park near Anaheim Stadium, was not present at Tuesday’s council meeting. He said he would address the issue if the council decides to take up the issue at a future meeting.

Mayor Fred Hunter asked the council to review a proposed mobile home park rent-freeze ordinance, but his request was rejected on a 3-2 vote. The Anaheim Political Action Committee, a group that claims to represent more than 7,000 residents of the city’s two dozen trailer parks, is gathering signatures to place a mobile home rent-control measure on the November ballot.

The group proposed a similar initiative last year, but the City Council invalidated the measure on the advice of the city attorney because of an improperly worded petition statement.