Politics & Government

City Council Recap: Mobile Home Residents Want to Pay More

Also, cops get kudos from the mayor and the Environmental Science Workshop has a generous benefactor.

Mobile home residents are ready to open their pocketbooks to create a legal aid fund for themselves, they just hope Watsonville voters will give them the go-ahead.

The Watsonvile City Council approved placing a measure on the November ballot that would increase city fees on mobile home residents from $1.10 to $5 a month.

The goal is to build some savings in case the city needs to defend its rent control ordinance that protects local mobile home residents. In its first year, the fee increase could bring in about $55,000, according to Assistant City Manager Marcela Tavantzis.

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"We would like to have a little pot of money, in case the residents need assistance," Tavantzis said.

What the city and mobile home residents fear is a challenge to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which prevents mobile home park property owners from jacking up prices. Capitola and Santa Cruz both had to abandon their ordinances after challenges from property owners and steep legal fees. Capitola spent $1 million on its unsuccessful defense, Tavantzis said.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It really is an insurance policy of sorts," said Terry Hancock, an attorney with Senior Citizens Legal Services.

Losing rent stabilization could triple or quadruple mobile home rents, from about $300-$400 a month to $1,200.

"This is protecting one of the last vestiges of affordable housing in the community," City Council Member Lowell Hurst said.

A handful of mobile home park residents at the meeting told the city council they'd pay more—$10 a month—to protect their living situation.

"I would be willing to pay that tomorrow if you put it on me," said Bruce Nichols, who lives in Meadow Manors and is on the HOA board there.

The fee increase will be on the November ballot. It must be approved by all city residents, not just those who live in the Watsonville's 922 mobile home park units.

In other news at the city council meeting:

  • Police officers from Salinas and Watsonville who rushed to help Stag Hotel residents who were trapped inside when the residential hotel caught fire April 30 were honored for their heroics. Watsonville Mayor Eduardo Montesino gave the men proclamations for their efforts. The arson-caused fire injured 17 men and left about four dozen people homeless.
  • An anonymous donor gave the Watsonville Environmental Science Workshop a $150,000 grant for the coming two years. The funding will support programming at five sites and allow the workshop to hire up to eight more high school and college-age interns.
  • Of course, the big-ticket item Tuesday evening was .

City council members also talked about the controversial redesign of the . Patch will have an update on that shortly.


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