VENTURA : Mobile-Home Owner Rent Plan Supported

Confronted with opposing plans to revamp a mobile-home rent control law, the Ventura City Council elected to adopt most provisions of the ordinance proposed by mobile-home owners.

Rejecting a model law pitched by park owners, the council opted to extend indefinitely the ordinance submitted by mobile-home owners.

But several key provisions of the measure will be reviewed by the city attorney, including one that limits annual rent increases to 50% of the consumer price index, a national inflation measurement.

City Atty. Peter D. Bulens was directed to review the draft ordinance submitted by mobile-home park residents and return to the council next month with a revised law.

That ordinance will be considered after a public hearing July 17 and would take effect weeks before the existing law expires in September.

Scores of mobile-home residents clashed with a handful of park owner representatives at the three-hour public hearing late Monday.

Park owners said rent increases equal to just 50% of the consumer price index would deny them a “fair and reasonable” profit on their investments.

But residents told the council that any rent hikes beyond that could force them from their homes. The existing rent control law is based on a complex formula that both park owners and residents said needed revision.