LAKE FOREST : City to Consider Mobile Home Plan
A request for $97,500 from mobile home owners looking to buy the lease on their trailer park will be considered by the City Council tonight.
Council members have had a month to consider the latest proposal from Kimberly Gardens Mobile Home Park residents, who say the money would cover initial costs for procuring a $6-million property loan.
The council had been surprised by the request, made Feb. 1, because Kimberly Gardens residents had previously asked the council to be co-signers on the loan to purchase the park lease.
However, representatives of the mobile home group said the new proposal would be a lighter financial load on the city. Instead of guaranteeing a $6-million loan, the city would put out $97,000, much of it refundable, according to group spokesman David Mounier.
The funding would pay for loan processing costs such as land assessment, engineering and escrow fees, Mounier said. Some of these costs are refundable, he said.
Kimberly Gardens residents want to purchase a 30-year lease on the property. Their long-range goal is to buy the park outright for about $8 million after first paying $6 million for the long-term lease.
The mobile home owners say that excessive space rent increases gave them the incentive to pursue acquiring the park.
Kimberly Gardens is one of four mobile home parks in the city that is pushing for rent control in Lake Forest.
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