The proposed ordinance would prevent owners from changing senior parks to all ages and provide more protection from development
By Daniel Green | Source
The County of Santa Barbara is moving closer to protecting senior mobile home parks.
On Wednesday, the County Planning Commission will hear a proposal for a Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay Ordinance, which would change county laws to prevent owners from changing age limits at senior mobile home parks.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors first addressed the issue in October after a group of seniors expressed concern that three parks in Santa Barbara and Orcutt were planning to change the age limit from “55 and up” to all ages.
The supervisors adopted a moratorium on changing age limits until staff could come back with the overlay to modify the county code. That proposed ordinance is being reviewed Wednesday.
The loss of senior mobile homes could negatively impact the affordable housing for seniors in the county, staff said.
The county has 21 mobile home parks in unincorporated areas. Of that number, 19 mobile home parks (and 2,383 spaces) could be affected by the mobile park changes, and 11 parks offer senior living.
The proposed changes would prevent parks that have been designed for seniors from being changed to all-ages parks, and will require owners to verify the ages of residents.
Under the county requirements, senior mobile home parks will also have to ensure that 80% of occupied homes are reserved for seniors.
The ordinance would recognize mobile parks as affordable housing alternatives and communities that residents have invested in. The overlay would help ensure that the land is primarily used for mobile homes and would protect the parks from development, according to a county staff report.
During the October discussions, Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson supported the moratorium on changing mobile home park age limits. He said that an all-ages community has different needs, such as schools, playgrounds, and sidewalks.
“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,” Nelson said.
Several residents have already sent in public comment letters ahead of this week’s Planning Commission meeting on the subject.
One person said her senior-only park is a lovely and quiet place for her to live.
“It is extremely important for this land to continue supporting this mobile home park. My home cost me $675,000. I am a retired attorney. Amazingly, I can’t buy anything else here for that price. It is two minutes from my husband’s skilled nursing home and three minutes from my daughter’s home,” the letter said.
If the Planning Commission supports the ordinance, the proposal will return to the Board of Supervisors for review.
[ED. NOTE: This campaign to get a Senior MHP Overlay and MHP Zoning Overlay enacted has been driven by the GSMOL Chapters, leaders and members in the Santa Barbara County jurisdiction, along with our allied coalition NSBMHT, the North Santa Barbara County Manufactured Home Team. My park is one of the senior parks that will be protected by this ordinance, and ALL parks in the county jurisdiction will be protected from conversion to any other use by the MHP Zoning ordinance.
– Anne Anderson, GSMOL State President]
