By Jason Anderson | Source |
The Santa Maria Planning Commission unanimously approved a zoning change to create a Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay District Wednesday, ensuring that mobile homes remain a viable affordable housing option for local seniors.
The change institutes rules and carves out local enforcement powers around age-restricted communities, 55 years of age or older, protecting them from unapproved conversion to all ages facilities.
The zoning change will now move to the City Council for full approval.
“Our streets are mostly quiet and a good place for a senior on a cane or even a walker to take a leisurely stroll,” said Gary Hall, resident of Rancho Buena Vista Mobile Estates and president of local advocacy group North Santa Barbara County Manufactured Homeowners Team (NSBMHT).
“Our residents lead quiet lives. Seniors like me, buy homes and senior parks knowing our neighbors will also and always be seniors,” he told the commissioners.
Hall has been a fixture at City Council meetings for years, calling on the City to do something to protect elderly individuals living on fixed-incomes from property owners changing their park’s status against residents’ wishes.
“Senior mobile home parks need to be preserved in Santa Maria since they remain one of the few affordable housing options still available to seniors,” he finished Wednesday, before being followed by five speakers sharing similar views.
The overlay district is similar to other efforts in California, including zoning rules in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, to dedicate certain portions of the land use map to accessible affordable-housing for seniors, while creating a City review and enforcement mechanism.
Impacting the existing five age-restricted mobile home parks in Santa Maria, the new ordinance would require that 80% of mobile homes in the parks be occupied by someone over the age of 55.
Any attempts to change a park in the current overlay to an all-ages park would require review from the City, including public meetings of the Planning Commission and the City Council.
Additionally, parks would be subject to biennial age checks and compliance certification by property owners, with verification responsibility vested in the City. Properties would also be required to clearly label their parks as a senior mobile home park in advertising, leases and signage.
The ordinance does not create rent-control programs, and does not put the City in a position to regulate residency eligibility or tenancy decision — but would allow for monitoring and enforcement of the ordinance’s requirements.
While supporting the plan, commissioners questioned enforcement capabilities of the City if a property owner does not comply with the regulations, specifically the tenant threshold.
Assistant City Attorney Heather Whitham said that property owners must comply with existing federal law, HOPA – Housing for Older Persons Act, but a local ordinance would allow the City to ensure that parks comply with the standards and are subject to local oversight.
“They’re also going to be obligated to comply with federal law; so, there’s the federal overlay, there’s our ordinance … our regular code enforcement could get involved if need be,” Whitham said. “Violations of our municipal code are misdemeanors; we have lots of different remedies that we can use, but we don’t anticipate that.”
Because the changes approved by the commission on Wednesday zone the existing parks specifically for senior mobile homes, owners who are out of compliance — either through intentional action or by vacancy attrition — would be subject to remedial action from the City.
That could include civil action from the City, misdemeanor code compliance violations and court action, according to Whitham.
“In the same way, anytime somebody ignores our municipal code, we do have tools to step in and try and force compliance,” she said.
ED. NOTE – NSBMHT is a local coalition based in North Santa Barbara County and allied with GSMOL.
