Disaster Preparedness & Response Workshop Held at Rancho Santa Barbara
April 14, 2015
“Chapter 49’s meeting this month featured a workshop on organizing your park to prepare for emergencies and be able to respond to them”, reports Chapter 49 President Anne Anderson. “Bev Swann, the leader of RSB’s Disaster Team, explained how our park is divided up into areas and blocks, with area leaders and ‘point people’ in the blocks. Other elements of our DP&R plan were presented to an audience that included representatives from other nearby parks as well as our residents.” (The article in the February/March Californian on Disaster Preparedness is based upon RSB’s plan.)
Chapter 49, Rancho Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
Sundance Chapter Battles Against Rent Increase
April 1, 2015
“Members of Chapter 1212, Sundance MHP in Escondido will be going to San Diego North County Superior Court on May 22nd, 2015 [hearing was postponed from May 15 without any explanation – ED.] to appeal our $141.44 monthly rent increase that was granted improperly at our PROP K August 2013 Public Rent Review Hearing by our City Council”, reports chapter president Bob Wise.
“29 Sundance MHP residents in our 88 space park who are covered by rent control (there are 59 spaces which are on leases or vacant) are protesting the excessive monthly rent increase, where $12 to $20 increases are the normal range.”
“All 88 had 5 year leases that were negotiated with our previous MHP Owner for a mutual benefit until the end of 2011. So we only lacked one year and 8 months of rent increases, but the Irvine Law Firm of Hart, King & Coldren [a firm which usually represents park owners – ED.] used a loophole to go back to 1988, when our last Public Rent Review Hearing was held. The Rent Review Board decided to ignore the MHP residents’ PROP K protections (which are very similar to California PROP 13 – to protect against financial evictions of long term residents).”
“Since August 2013, five residents have moved or passed on, so our new MH Park Owner gets about $425 more per month from new residents, which the law allows. So why do they need to force out or discourage senior citizen residents in poor health during the last few years of their lives, many who have been here more than 15 years?”
“At our last Rent Review Hearing on March 25, our rent was raised another $15 on top of that $141.44 excessive amount. Two members of our Rent Review Board (Escondido City Council) have voiced public opposition to our Rent Stabilization Ordinance, PROP K, that was successfully defended by Escondido and GSMOL in 1992 at the United States Supreme Court!”
“[GSMOL Corporate Counsel] Bruce Stanton is representing us very well in this issue that has a domino effect throughout our City and the whole state of California!”
Chapter 1212, Sundance MHP, Escondido
