August 4, 2026
Santa Maria City Council
110 E. Cook St.
Santa Maria, CA
RE: Agenda Item 13A - Senior Mobilehome Park Overlay District Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council:
The Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association (WMA) represents the owners and operators of mobilehome parks and manufactured housing communities throughout California. Having been founded in 1945, WMA is one of the oldest, largest and most respected non-profit trade associations of its kind in the United States.
WMA and its Santa Maria members oppose creating a Senior Mobilehome Park Overlay District for the following reasons:
• The five current senior-designated mobilehome parks have no intention of converting to an all- ages park;
• If a senior resident sells his/her home, this type of ordinance will limit those who could purchase the property, as non-senior families are disqualified from buying the home, thus making it more difficult for the seller to find a buyer (must be a senior buyer); • This would hurt low-income city residents seeking affordable housing; for example, single mothers with children who could otherwise purchase and occupy an affordable mobilehome would not be eligible and further exacerbating the affordable housing shortage in Santa Maria and, therefore the state;
• This attack on private property rights is a far-reaching attempt to essentially tell parkowners who their customers must be (seniors 55 and over);
• It’s a short-sighted approach that creates more unintended consequences, such as administering the compliance of such an ordinance – this would undoubtedly increase the city’s budget at a time when none of the current senior mobilehome park owners have any desire to change to an all-age mobilehome park.
We respectfully request that the City Council take no action toward establishing a Senior Mobilehome Park Overlay District.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
JARRYD GONZALES
WESTERN MANUFACTURED HOUSING COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATION
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.wma.org
WMA — Advancing and Protecting the Manufactured Housing Industry since 1945
711 Tank Farm Road, Suite 115
P.O. Box 730
San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-0730
ph 805/543-4171 fx 805/543-0752
www.amblaw.com
2739 Santa Maria Way, Third Floor
P.O. Box 1430
Santa Maria, CA 93456-1430
ph 805/937-1400 fx 805/937-1444
Peter R. Andre (1918-2000)
Michael J. Morris (1945-2025)
James C. Buttery (Retired)
Kathryn M. Eppright
Lisa LaBarbera Toke
Karen Gjerdrum Fothergill
Cameron T. Cotton
Michaela R. Cotton
Kyle J. Johnson
Peter R. Andre (1918-2000)
Michael J. Morris
James C. Buttery
Dennis D. Law
J. Todd Mirolla
Scott W. Wall
Kathryn M. Eppright
William V. Douglass
Lisa LaBarbera Toke
Melissa McGann Babu
Karen Gjerdrum Fothergill
Collette A. Hillier
870772.docx
August 4, 2026
City Council
Attn.: City Clerk's Office
110 East Cook Street
Santa Maria, CA 93454
[email protected]
Re: Senior Mobilehome Park Overlay Zone (Item 13.a)
Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council:
As you may recall, we represent the three biggest mobilehome parks in Santa Maria, Casa Grande, Rancho Buena Vista and Casa Del Rio1. We are submitting this letter on behalf of our clients in opposition to the creation of a Senior Mobilehome Park Overlay Zone, for the following reasons:
• A senior overlay zone would not solve or help the affordable housing shortage in Santa Maria; in fact, in a way, it would discriminate against non-seniors who live in or wish to live in mobilehome parks;
• If a senior resident sells his or her mobilehome in any of the senior mobilehome parks in Santa Maria, this type of ordinance would limit those who could purchase the mobilehome because non-senior families would be disqualified from purchasing any mobilehome located in any such mobilehome park, thus making it more difficult for the seller to find a buyer; • This type of ordinance would also hurt low-income city residents seeking affordable housing in Santa Maria; for example, single mothers with children who could otherwise purchase and occupy an affordable mobilehome would not be eligible and would therefore further exacerbate the affordable housing shortage in Santa Maria in particular and in California in general;
1 It should be noted that Casa Del Rio is a subdivided HOA community, not a traditional mobilehome park, so applying a senior overlay to Casa Del Rio would be like applying it to single family lots. For this reason and other reasons, it would be appropriate to exclude Casa Del Rio from any senior overlay.
City Council
August 4, 2026
870772.docx
• This attack on private property rights is a far-reaching attempt to tell park owners who their customers must be, namely seniors 55 and over; and • This is a short-sighted approach that would create unintended consequences, such as ensuring compliance with the ordinance, and would increase the City’s budget at a time when the remaining senior mobilehome park owners do not have any desire to convert to all-ages mobilehome parks.
We respectfully request that the City Council take no action toward establishing a Senior Mobilehome Park Overlay Zone.
Thank you in advance for your consideration, and please advise if there is any further information or documentation we can provide.
Very truly yours,
Lisa L. Toke
LLT/jr