San Mateo County bans mobile home park closures and conversions

 November 18, 2015, 05:00 AM By Bill Silverfarb Daily Journal

Eight mobile home parks in unincorporated San Mateo County cannot close or make major

conversions for the next 45 days as the Board of Supervisors adopted a temporary urgency ordinance Tuesday. 

The ongoing housing crisis in the Bay Area has led to concern about the preservation of affordable housing in mobile home parks, according to a report by County Manager John Maltbie.

The report notes that some mobile home park owners in the area have moved toward building high-density housing, in Palo Alto, or luxury manufactured homes on their properties such as proposed at the Pacific Skies Estates mobile home park in Pacifica.

Within unincorporated San Mateo County, the eight parks have space for 850 mobile homes but currently only 350 spaces in the parks are actually occupied by mobile homes.

Many of the spaces are occupied by recreational vehicles that face their own challenges because most facilities that accept them have long waiting lists.

Those who live in RVs and have resided at a mobile home park in unincorporated county lands for the past nine months are also subject to the moratorium.

When the parks are converted or closed, the residents are displaced and not easily able to relocate because of the physical condition of the home or the fact that parks generally only accept new mobile homes, according to the report

The ban on closures and conversions could extend for two years depending on later board action.

State law requires park owners to submit relocation impact reports to municipalities prior to closure or conversion.

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Posted by Steve Sinai