From: Tim Sheahan
To: City Clerk General Email
Cc: Harris, Sean
Subject: public comment regarding Agenda item 6 of the Consent Calendar/file TMP-1643 Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 2:58:59 PM
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Please read the following regarding this evening’s Council meeting Consent Calendar item 6/ file TMP-1643 dealing with Springdale Estates mobilehome park:
“Good evening Mayor and Council members. My name is Tim Sheahan, and I am the Tenant Representative for Springdale Estates in regard to our challenge to a noticed 6% space rent increase. We continue to be in negotiations with park representatives and remain hopeful negotiations will lead to a resolution of the rent dispute and avoid the need of a rent hearing. Homeowners have accepted full CPI increases each year since our previous rent review hearing in 2010, but the spike in inflation this year has created particularly significant financial hardship for residents, even without a rent increase. Park owners are not impacted by the rise in such things as gasoline and groceries the same way homeowners have been, and therefore don’t deserve full CPI increases. Also, with a disparity between low and high monthly rent of over $500 at Springdale Estates, those already paying the highest rent are unfairly impacted by a percentage rent increase. Facing the prospect of some homeowners being forced to pay a rent increase of over $60/month, while others faced less than a $30/month increase was simply not acceptable. We have offered a flat-rate increase so that the disparity in rent is not expanded even further.
Since Springdale Estates is an all-age MH park of working families, we ask that any rent review hearing sessions be held in the evening, after normal business hours, so that more tenants can participate or view the proceedings.
Finally, we want to appeal to the Council to change the City policy regarding the petition signature gathering process. We strongly suspect the park has not provided a full and accurate listing of ALL tenants qualified to sign the petition for the past several years. Consequently, we had many signatures rejected this year and in previous years. We’ve requested the opportunity to review the park list and confirm its veracity but were denied by City officials. In 2018, even though we had enough signatures, several were disqualified without full details and that petition failed certification. In this current cycle, we had over 10% of the signatures disqualified and barely achieved the minimum threshold for certification. Petition circulators should be provided a complete and accurate list of affected spaces and qualified tenants so they can target those who are qualified and not bother those who are not. In the past, some previous park owners did provide the listing to all affected tenants, and we feel it is reasonable and fair to expect such a list at least be provided to petition circulators in the future.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I want to wish you all a happy, healthy and rewarding 2022.”
Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Tim Sheahan
Springdale Estates Tenant Representative
Tim Sheahan
Volunteer MH owner advocate
Phone: 760-727-4495
Email: [email protected]
Springdale Estates
2907 South Santa Fe Avenue
Space 2
San Marcos, CA 92069
“Without proper consumer protections,
owning a manufactured home on someone
else’s land is no walk in the
[MH] park! When
hit with unanticipated expenses, MH “park”
owners often merely pass those costs along
to residents or seek tax write-offs, while in
stark contrast, MH owners often face loss of
their homes, rights of tenancy, credit
worthiness, health and well-being.”