A rare standing ovation went out to the City Council as it decided to accept the mobile home park initiative and make Erickson's Law an official ordinance in Thousand Oaks.

Now, Councilmember Andy Fox said, he'll be able to go home for Thanksgiving dinner.

Fox's mother, who lives in Thunderbird Estates mobile home park, had called him before the council meeting and expressed to her son the fear felt by those who live in mobile home parks in the city. She also came to the council meeting to support her neighbors and those from eight other mobile home parks who were requesting the city's protection.

In December 2007, a group of mobile home residents came to the council on a cold, rainy night begging the city to save them from being evicted from Conejo Mobile Home Park at 1200 Newbury Road, Newbury Park, after the owner of the park sought to turn it into a facility for seniors and a medical office building.

The worried residents included disabled, fragile seniors; veterans; and the working poor.

City staff recommended the property their homes sat on be rezoned to high-density. This would have benefitted the city because it could then cross off a requirement by the state that the city provide more high-density zoning. Residents were told by Fox they might qualify to live there after the condominiums were built since some of the condominiums would be set aside for low-income people.

During a meeting at a tavern near the Conejo Mobile Home Park, residents were told the rezoning from commercial to highdensity was the best the city could do for them under the circumstances.

Mobile home park residents resisted that idea, stuck together and continued to demand a change in zoning to "mobile home exclusive" or fair market value for their homes if the park was to be closed.

Other mobile home park residents joined with them, and Thousand Oaks Mobile Homeowners Action Coalition (TOMHAC) was formed. The group found a lawyer who penned what they called "Erickson's Law," named after the late Richard Erickson, a Conejo Mobile Home Park Homeowners Association president who tried to protect that park's residents after the owner announced he would close it.

Next, seniors went out and sat outside grocery stores day after day for hours to obtain enough signatures to get the Erickson's Law initiative on the ballot.

At the July 8 City Council meeting, Mayor Jacqui Irwin recalled going to Ralphs and seeing one of the mobile home park residents so determined to gather petitions she showed up even though she needed to use a shopping cart to stand.

Fox commended those who gathered signatures for their grassroots efforts.

The coalition needed 7,150 signatures to get the initiative on the November ballot so Thousand Oaks residents could vote on it. They got more than 11,000 and the City Council's attention.

Councilmember Dennis Gillette noted that if the initiative went to a public vote, developers would back a campaign against it that members of TOMHAC would have a hard time defending financially.

City attorney Amy Albano explained to the council that the initiative could be defended in court.

Community Development Director John Prescott presented an analysis report on the initiative's impact on the city. According to the report, making the initiative law would mean the city would likely lose future property tax revenue and could possibly lose money if the city were sued and had to defend it. He also noted the city would have to meet the state's requirement for highdensity zoning by zoning another area high density in place of the Conejo Mobile Home Park, which could be affected by the initiative.

Each council member took turns explaining how passing the initiative was the right thing to do. Then, the council voted unanimously to make the initiative law.