LAKE FOREST : Help Sought to Buy Mobile Home Park

Mobile home park residents are expected to renew their plea at tonight’s City Council meeting for the council to help them purchase their park.

Amid a battle between mobile home tenants and landlords over rent control, residents of the Kimberly Gardens mobile home park have been trying for several months to purchase their facility.

Last week, the city staff issued a report on the options available to the council, which range from issuing bonds to having park tenants finance the purchase themselves.

However, council members have expressed reluctance to commit city funds toward buying the park. The city would then be the landlord and set space rents.

“I don’t know what support there would be for a bond issue,” said Mayor Marcia Rudolph. “This is not something that a 2-year-old city does.”

There are about 156 units at the park, and city officials roughly estimate the park’s value at $6 million.

Rudolph said the owners may be reluctant to sell the park and “my opinion is that I don’t see the city going into procedures to force them to sell the land.”

Thomas Whaling, an attorney for the mobile home park residents, said all his clients want is the city to guarantee financing for the park. If the loan goes into default, the city would take over operation of the park, he said.

“We just want the city to step in and help us stop (the landlords) from price gouging on space rents,” Whaling said.

The city report outlines options that includes low-interest state and federal loans for mobile home park dwellers.

Tenants of the city’s four mobile home parks were recently disappointed in a bid to convince the council to impose rent control. A rent moratorium was turned down by the council last month because most tenants have leases ranging from one to five years that wouldn’t be affected by a rent control law.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. at 23778 Mercury Road.