Huntington Beach mobile home park residents unite to seek rent control
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Good morning. It’s Friday, July 29. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
The business model for mobile home parks — with the homeowners paying to rent the lot their house sits on — makes the residents vulnerable to rent hikes that can eventually make their living situation untenable.
You may have seen the recent Associated Press story about rents noticeably spiking as more and more big corporations buy up mobile home parks from smaller business entities. It’s a real worry for many folks who are living on fixed incomes or have low-paying jobs. They originally found mobile home living to be affordable, but are now finding themselves scrambling to pay the rent or face the prospect of leaving their neighborhood.
In Huntington Beach, my colleague Matt Szabo has been chronicling over the past several months the efforts of a mobile home park residents, many of them seniors, who want to see some rental stabilization measures specific to their living arrangements. But their desires to that end are complicated because 20 years ago 68.7% of the voters who participated in the election passed Measure EE, the “Property Rights Protection” initiative that stated that only a property owner can establish the price or terms related to a property’s sale, lease, rental, exchange or transfer, and specifically hogtied the city from passing any rent stabilization ordinances.
Two decades later, the situation has become more concerning for these particular residents as rents climb higher and higher. There have been some protests and some pleas to the City Council to do something to help out. Specifically, these residents earlier this year asked the council to put a mobile home “carveout” of that Measure EE ordinance on the November ballot, asking voters to allow the city to temper rental increases in mobile home parks only.
The City Council, according to Szabo’s reporting, did not advance that idea, despite an April recommendation by the Mobile Home Advisory Board. Instead, the panel asked staff to look into ways the city might help subsidize the residents with a rental assistance program.
Coming into play now is the newly formed Huntington Beach Mobile Home Resident Coalition, which hopes to collect enough Surf City voter signatures to get the carveout on the ballot in 2024.
“It would need to present a petition signed by 15% of the voters in the city to do so,” Szabo writes. “That number is daunting in a big city like Huntington Beach, though. Including the extra amount required to account for disqualified signers, an estimated 30,000 people would need to sign the petition.”
“We’ve been busy,” coalition member Ada Hand told Szabo at a meeting the group held this week. “I think we are hopeful, with the participation of a growing number of people, that we will be able to get the required number of signatures. Then the effort will be intensified to educate the electorate and have them vote to override the city charter and allow rent stabilization in mobile home parks.”
MORE NEWS
— Knott’s Berry Farm has decided to extend its chaperone policy to include Sundays, park officials announced. The chaperone policy, which went into effect last Friday after a string of fights among teenagers at the park, previously only included Fridays and Saturdays. Officials said the change will be enforced until further notice, and the park “may add other days of the week as necessary.”
— Costa Mesa officials last week approved a new parking permit program to which any residential street can apply and establish a fee structure they say will keep the program cost neutral. The move allows Costa Mesans to petition for a “permit-only parking” zone if 51% or more of affected tenants or homeowners sign a petition and the street’s parking occupancy is high enough.
— A federal judge has ruled to combine similar lawsuits filed against Los Angeles County by Vanessa Bryant and another Orange County resident, Christopher Chester, whose wife and daughter were among nine people, including Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna, killed in a January 2020 helicopter crash. The lawsuits allege the L.A. County sheriff’s and fire departments, among other defendants, violated the 14th Amendment rights of Vanessa Bryant and Chester after county employees shared photos of the crash scene in Calabasas.
— Spurred by a ballot measure put forth by some Laguna Beach residents concerned about development within the city that threatens its small-town character, the City Council this week approved amendments to a zoning ordinance and local coastal program.
— Although it would be more comforting for those of us concerned about the drought if the chances of wet stuff falling from the skies anytime soon were more like 90% to 95%, the National Weather Service said Thursday there’s a 15% to 20% chance of rain and thunderstorms for most of Southern California, including Orange County, starting Saturday and lasting until Monday.
LIFE & LEISURE
— There’s no better time than today, or tomorrow at the very latest, to get your favorite ice cream soda from historic Watson’s Soda Fountain & Cafe in Old Towne Orange, which will close its doors at the end of the business day Saturday. First opened in 1899, it’s had a few different owners and operated in a couple of locations over the years. According to the story by Sarah Mosqueda, Watson’s has been used as a filming location for “That Thing You Do” (1996) and “The Benchwarmers” (2006) and several commercials. “President George W. Bush is said to have stopped in for a malt,” Mosqueda adds. Watson’s is located at 116 E. Chapman Ave., Orange.
— The driving force behind the thriving Costa Mesa-headquartered Sea Monster Cookie Co. is 12-year-old Jasper Rogers, who has a business license in hand and the Orange County Health Agency’s approval to cook up batches of goodness in the family’s kitchen. Jasper invented his signature cookie a year ago, at the tender age of 11, and began selling it to friends, at camp and school events. Sea Monster Cookie Co. publicly debuted at Costa Mesa’s Fish Fry in June, selling 150 bags of cookies before the event had ended and earning him a following on Instagram. Reporter Sara Cardine couldn’t convince Jasper to give up his secret recipe, but in a feature story she fills readers in on the other secrets to his success.
SPORTS
— The Los Angeles Chargers have officially opened their 2022 training camp at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa and their fans were out in force Wednesday to see them practice. The Chargers will hold more practices that are open to the public through Aug. 11. Two joint practices with the Cowboys, on Aug. 17 and 18, will be open exclusively to season-ticket holders. Free tickets for training camp are available online, and parking is available for $10.
— Two new pickleball courts opened in Costa Mesa this week, created from former basketball courts at the city’s Tanager Park as the sport takes hold among people of all ages. “Picklers” can take advantage of the courts from dawn until dusk daily. Nets are provided, but players must bring their own equipment.
CALENDAR THIS
— Crystal Cove Conservancy is offering a beginning hiker’s class on Tuesday, Aug. 9, from 8 a.m. to noon. The guide is Dana Hunter, a longtime Crystal Cove volunteer who, according to the pitch, “will teach you everything you need to know to continue your hiking journey: mindful preparation, choosing trails appropriate for your fitness level, and what gear you’ll need to get started. Dana’s hiking hacks and drawings will help you jump into the hobby of a lifetime!” As I write this, there are only 21 openings left for the class, which costs $15. You can sign up here. Directions to the Berns Amphitheater, where participants will meet, can be found here.
— This Sunday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. take in Tunes at the Dunes at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina.
This free summer event features live entertainment, food trucks and a full bar (the latter for adults only). Pack a beach chair.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space (please keep your submission to 100 words or less).
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C., or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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