The board votes to prepare a temporary moratorium on changing 55-and-up parks to all-ages
By Daniel Green | Source
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors responded to community outcry over a proposal to convert a senior mobile home park to an all-ages community by discussing a potential moratorium on Tuesday.
Residents raised the issue in recent public meetings after they were informed that new owners of three parks in Santa Barbara and Orcutt were planning to change the age limit from “55 and up” to all ages. [Ed. Note: this is a misunderstanding; no parks in Santa Barbara are currently under threat of conversion; but many GSMOL members and other homeowners in two Santa Barbara senior parks spoke up in favor of the moratorium and in support of the residents of Del Cielo.]
At Tuesday’s meeting in Santa Maria, county supervisors directed staff to prepare a moratorium on conversions, and return as soon as possible for a vote.
To address concerns over the change to the age limit, the board was asked to issue a moratorium on any changes until a senior overlay could be created. The overlay would protect seniors living in these parks.
One of the locations, Del Cielo in Orcutt, is in the process of changing its age limit.
The county has 21 mobile parks. Orcutt has the most parks with seven, and Santa Barbara is next with six.
Eleven of the 21 parks have age restrictions of 55 and up.
Steve Wagner, an Associate Manager for the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League, described the change to Del Cielo as a fight for “survival.”
Wagner told the board that the people who bought homes in these parks were told it was made for seniors. He said Del Cielo in Orcutt had a sign that read “55 and up” in its driveway before it was taken down.
“They live in this park that protects them from the outside world. From the speed, from the noise, from everything that goes on. This is where they have chosen to live and probably for the rest of their lives,” Wagner said.
Another speaker said that if he died before his wife, he was not sure whether she could afford to keep living in their community if rents increased.
The request for protections for seniors was met with strong support from the supervisors, who expressed concern about owners who may try to increase rental prices or try to push out seniors.
Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said his office surveyed Del Cielo to see what people thought of the change.
Out of 121 responses, his office found that 120 people wanted the park to stay “senior-only” and only one person was open to it becoming all-ages.
“To me, it seems nearly unanimous that those living in senior parks, especially Del Cielo, want to do that,” Nelson said.
He added that he had spoken to the new owners and said they told him that everyone deserved affordable housing.
Even though Nelson agreed with that idea, he stated that it should not be done at the expense of seniors who have invested in the community and expect to live with other people in their age group.
Nelson continued by saying that many of those mobile parks were not designed for young families and do not have infrastructure such as sidewalks, day care, playgrounds, or safe routes to school.
“There are going to be a lot of environmental impacts if you convert something from 55-plus to all-age that are far more than just the exclusivity of housing,” he said.
Second District Supervisor Laura Capps agreed with her colleagues.
She stated that in a few years, one in four Santa Barbara County residents will be older than 60 and that the board needs to protect them.
Capps thanked the residents of the parks for coming forward and informing the board of the issue.
“I’m all for exploring a moratorium,” Capps said. “I’m all for an overlay and making sure we protect these really precious places that have been serving seniors successfully and need to continue.”
ED. NOTE: This campaign was organized by GSMOL leaders and members in Santa Barbara County and by members of North Santa Barbara Manufactured Home Team (NSBMHT), our GSMOL-allied coalition in North SB County. Organizers include Associate Manager for North SB County Steve Wagner; GSMOL Chapter #227 at Del Cielo; Ellen Duke, President of GSMOL Chapter 1316 at San Vicente MHP; Martha Hassenplug, GSMOL Chapter #49 and HOA officer of Rancho Santa Barbara; and yours truly (Anne Anderson, GSMOL Chapter #49 President of Rancho Santa Barbara). This is what GSMOL leaders and members can do when they work together!
