omha.info - OCEANSIDE: City blocks park's proposed rent increase

Appeal likely, attorney for Cavalier says By CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Thursday, April 9, 2009 10:52 AM PDT OCEANSIDE ---- The city has blocked a large rent increase for residents at Cavalier Mobile Estates, but according to the park owners' attorney, an appeal is likely. Oceanside's Manufactured Homes Fair Practices Commission voted 3-1 last week to deny a so-called "special adjustment" to the rents at the 346-space park. The owners wanted to bump the average rent by $252. Residents pay about $350 per month on average, a city report states. The commission is likely to affirm the decision Monday. After that, the owners can appeal to a retired Superior Court judge, their attorney, Mark Alpert, said Wednesday. "I do expect an appeal," Alpert said.

Cavalier, a large cluster of mobile homes on Oceanside Boulevard, just west of Interstate 5, is one of the city's oldest parks. It's on prime real estate, about a mile from the beach. Oceanside's mobile home parks provide some of the area's most affordable housing. The city’s rent control ordinance allows for an annual rent increase every year, but it's limited to 75 percent of the Consumer Price Index. This year, an increase of 2.93 percent is allowed. Cavalier's owners wanted more. "You cannot expect a park owner to maintain a park while their returns continue to fall and fall and fall and fall," Alpert said. Margery Pierce, director of the Oceanside's Neighborhood Services Department, said city staff feels the owners are already making a fair return. Long-time resident Deanna Hasselmann, 70, expressed relief at the commission's vote but said she's still leery about what could happen. With a big increase, she said Wednesday, "we would have really been double-couponing it." Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.