City of Huntington Beach
Mobile Home Advisory Board
2022 Annual Report
2022 Annual Report of the Mobile Home Advisory Board 2
2022 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MOBILE HOME ADVISORY BOARD (MHAB)
Establishment of the Mobile Home Advisory Board
The Mobile Home Advisory Board (MHAB) was created in 1996 to ac t in an advisory capacity to the City Council in matters pertaining to the mobile home commu nity in Huntington Beach. The Board’s purpose is to understand the quality of life of and mat ters concerning mobile home parks through healthy communication wit h park owners, manufactured ho me owners, and the City Council.
Section 4 of the Bylaws of the MHAB states that the Board shall annually report to the City Council on its activities, including the number of meetings held, atten dance, and issues considered . The
Board is governed by the City’s Municipal Code chapter 2.112 an d is subject to the open meeting law (“Brown Act”).
Council Liaisons
Starting in December 21, 2021, Councilmembers Kim Carr and Dan Kalmick were appointed by the City Council and have served as Council Liaisons to the MHAB throughout 2022.
Board Membership
The MHAB shall consist of nine (9 ) members for a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms.
Membership includes three (3) H untington Beach mobile home park owners or their designated nominees (who may or may not reside in Huntington Beach); three (3) Huntington Beach mobile home resident owners; and three (3) Huntington Beach independent citizens-at-large who have no affiliation or relationship with mobile home parks.
In 2022, the MHAB members were as follows:
Membership Group Name Term Ends
Mobile Home Residents 1. Mary Jo Baretich August 2024
2. Carolyne “Carey Jo” Chase August 2024
3. Allison Plum August 2025
Mobile Home Park Owners 1. Chris Houser August 2025
2. Vickie Talley August 2025
3. Valerie Avilla August 2024
At Large Members 1.Tim Geddes, Chair August 2024
2. Eric Silkenson, Chair Elect August 2025
3. Scott Miller August 2025
Following the City Council’s approval of their appointments, the Board welcomed and swore in four members, Valerie Avilla, Carolyn “Carey Jo” Chase, Tim Geddes, and Scott Miller during the April 25, 2022 regular meeting.
Former Chair Don Hart resigned from the Board on March 25, 2022 due to health concerns. Per its Bylaws, Chair Elect Eric Silkenson subsequently served as A cting Chair until Tim Geddes was elected as Chair for the remainder of 2022. Chair Elect Silkens on will assume the Chair role
2022 Annual Report of the Mobile Home Advisory Board 3
starting January 2023.
Meetings & Board Attendance
A total of four (5) board meetings including one Special Meeting were held from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 in a hybrid format (both in person and via Zo om) per COVID-19 protocols to facilitate public participation.
Meeting Dates Attendance
January 24, 2022 8 Members Present, 0 Absent
March 08, 2022 - Special Meeting 7 Members Present, 0 Absent April 25, 2022 9 Members Present, 0 Absent
July 25, 2022 8 Members Present, 1 Absent (excused)
October 24, 2022 9 Members Present, 0 Absent
Public Participation & Public Comments
Public participation is welcome at all City board, commission a nd committee meetings. As such, the MHAB has maintained a count of the attendees and public com ments made on mobile home matters.
01/24/2022 03/08/2022 04/25/2022 07/25/2022 10/24/2022
# of public
attendance
39 (Zoom only)
36 (In-person: 11
Zoom: 25)
46 (In-person: 36;
Zoom: 10)
18 (In-person: 7;
Zoom: 11)
63 (In-person: 46;
Zoom: 17)
# of public
comments
20 20 10 8 23
The following are some of the more frequent public comments themes:
a) Residents of Skandia Mobile Co unty Estates expressed concern s about the sale of their park to IPG, ensuing rent increases and their impacts on home e quity; as well as a national trend of large corporations or investment banks purchasing mobilehome parks. b) Residents of Skandia Mobile C ounty Estates and other mobileh ome parks advocated for and requested the City Council’s support towards placing a ballot measure for a carve out to exempt mobile home parks from Sec tion 803 of the City Charter, which will enable the City to establish a Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO).
c) Many residents, including thos e from Skandia, expressed thei r financial difficulties and anxiety as they are on limited fixed income and cannot afford high rent increases. d) Some public members stated t he Manufactured Housing Educatio n Trust (MHET)’s Rent Assistance Program is restrictive and insufficient to help most low-income, senior residents. e) Some shared their concerns r egarding various types of retali ation by park owners, and many residents are afraid to speak up against park owners. f) Park owners and their repr esentatives contended that the rec ent park purchase and subsequent property tax incr eases benefit the City and school d istricts, asserting that RSO is not a long-term solution.
g) Additional groups such as the Western Manufactured Housing C ommunities Association (WMA) and the MHET also advocated against rent control.
2022 Annual Report of the Mobile Home Advisory Board 4
Staff Liaisons and Involvement
Grace Yoon-Taylor, Principal Ad ministrative Analyst at the City Manager’s Office served as Staff Liaison and Secretary to the Board. Travis Hopkins, Assistant City Manager also attended all 2022 MHAB meetings to provide guidance and staff support.
Staff provided all new members with onboarding materials, inclu ding but not limited to the City’s policies, regulations, member r oster, and an updated list/map o f 18 mobilehome parks. Staff also developed a new MHAB member m anual that outlines roles and resp onsibilities and useful information about City policies, procedures, and resources such as the Parliamentary Procedure at a Glance, User’s Guide to the Brown Act, and Huntington Beach C ode of Ethics. As a go-to resource guide, this manual was electronically shared with the entire Board on August 18, 2022.
Written Complaints by Citizens and/or request for Board assistance
May 3, 2022 – One resident contacted the City requesting infor mation about the MHAB meetings and resources. City staff provided information about the MHAB’s Mobile Home Park Dispute Resolution Procedure and also directed the residen t to contact the CA Department of Housing and Communi ty Development’s Mobilehome As sistance Center regarding issues with the park management.
August 23, 2022 – Another resident contacted the City regardin g the resident’s space lot being modified due to the shed from the next lot. City staff pr ovided this person with resources of the CA Mobilehome Assistance Center to submit formal complaints.
MHAB Actions and Activities
Special Speakers and Presentations
MHAB invited the following speake rs and industry experts to pro vide useful resources related to the City’s mobilehome community. Copies of presenta tions are available to the public through the City’s MHAB webpage.
April 24, 2022
Vickie Tally, Executive Director of the Manufactured Housing Ed ucation Trust (MHET) and MHAB park owner member made a presentation about the MHET Rent Assistance Program including its eligibility and application/selection process.
July 25, 2022
Bruce Stanton, Corporate Counsel o f the Golden State Manufactur ed-Home Owners League (GSMOL) spoke about GSMOL Res ources & History of Rent St abilization Ordinances in California
Steve Holtz and Charles Kovac fr om Community Development Depart ment presented the proposed framework for the City’s Senior Mobilehome Rent Assistance Program.
October 24, 2022
Steve Holtz, Deputy Director of Community Development Departmen t presented the City’s Housing Policy and Regional Housing Need Assessment (RHNA) including the review of the Senior Mobile Home Park Ordinance.
2022 Annual Report of the Mobile Home Advisory Board 5
Ad-hoc Subcommittees Activities
The Community Education Ad-hoc C ommittee, comprised of three Bo ard members (Pham, Plum, and Talley) dissolved after completing the task of develo ping an educational postcard to the mobilehome community in March 2022. The City Manager’s Office completed the design, production, and direct mailing of MHAB postcards to a t otal of 2,955 mobilehome addresses.
The Bylaws Review Ad-hoc Subcommi ttee met two times internally and also met with City staff on October 18, 2022 to discuss recommended changes to the existing bylaws.
Senior Resource Fair
In response to the public’s concerns regarding the detrimental impact of rent increases on low-income, senior mobilehome owners, the City Council directed City staff to plan and host an one-day senior resource fair directed towards both low-incom e seniors and mobilehome residents on February 25,2022. The MHAB offered ideas and sugg estions to City staff and in making this successful and also hosted a table some board me mbers attended the Fair including tables hosted by GSMOL and MHET at the fair on April 2, 2022 held at the Senior Center in Central Park.
Support to the Amendment to City Charter 803.
On April 25, 2022 meeting, the B oard voted to request the City Council to place a measure on the November 2022 General Elect ion ballot that would exempt mobile home parks from City Charter Section 803 - Property Rights Protection Measure (a 5-4 vote).
Charter Section 803 is a provision prohibiting the City from mandating “the price or other consideration payable to the owner in connection with the sale, lease, rent, exchange or other transfer by the owner of real property.”
City’s Senior Mobilehome Rent Assistance Program
On July 25, 2022 meeting, City staff from Community Development presented a framework to establish a Tenant-Based Rent Assistance (TBRA) specifically for senior mobile home residents. As requested, the Board provided its input and feedback to City staff on the program design and voted to support the proposed TBRA program and advise Council to appropriate funds each year to continue the program.
On November 1, 2022, the Mobile Home TBRA program was approved by the City Council.
MHAB Recommendations and Work Plan for 2022-2023
The following expenses (excludi ng general staffing and administ rative support from the City Manager’s Office) were incurred in 2022.
Community Outreach Postcard Mailing Campaign was designed to i ncrease community participation in MHAB meetings and share valuable information a bout MHAB. The City incurred a one-time cost of $1, 039.78 for design/printing, data processing, and postage, which was covered by the City Manager’s Office FY2021-22 operat ional budget as a one- time expense.
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Senior Resource Fair – Costs related to promoting and coordina ting event logistics were covered by the Community & Library Services Department – Senior Center’s FY21-22 operational budget as a one-time expense.
The MHAB requests the following plans for 2023:
To be determined.
1. Proactive marketing and outreach initiatives to provide cons istent information to the mobilehome community (for example, postcard mailing similar to the campaign done in 2022). The MHAB requests at least $3,000 to be included in the City’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget.
2. A Mobilehome Market Study to be conducted for Huntington Beach by an independent, third party research firm.
Respectfully submitted by Staff Liaison Yoon-Taylor
Reviewed by Chair Eric Silkenson
DApproved by the Mobile Home Advisory Board on January 23, 2023 Meeting