2 mobile home parks will get high-density zoning
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

After 30 people came out in a cold rain to speak and dozens of others filled out public statement cards in support of mobile home park residents' preference for a medium-density General Plan designation, the City Council voted against their requests, 3-1, in favor of high density for two mobile home parks.

Councilmember Andy Fox, who was asked last month by the council to be the mediator between the owner of Conejo Mobile Home Park and the mobile home park residents, wasn't present.

Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña dissented from changing the General Plan designation to high density.

"I don't feel, from what I've heard tonight, that we've truly exhausted all the options," Bill-de la Peña said.

During a Dec. 18 meeting, council members refused to vote on staff recommendations on grounds that other options needed to be exhausted first. Since that time, Fox and city staff members have met several times with owner Joseph Bednar and mobile home park residents.

During a mediation meeting on Jan. 12 at a tavern near the mobile home park, residents were told the city couldn't stop the park from closing, wouldn't give or lend them money to purchase the property, couldn't find a place in Thousand Oaks where they could relocate their mobile homes, and that they wouldn't be getting in-place fair market values for their homes.

"The City Council's goal remains to prevent anyone from being homeless tomorrow, next month or over the long term, as well as to get the best possible outcome for the tenants," said City Manager Scott Mitnick.

City staff members have dedicated quite a few resources to the issue, according to Mitnick, with more than a dozen city employees working for several hours. He also said the park owner has made it clear he plans to close Conejo Mobile Home Park and the city cannot save the park by changing its land-use designation.

Changing the parcel to high density helps the city meet requirements set by the state. It's possible that doing so would create affordable housing on the site that some of the existing residents might qualify for in the future.

"Low-income affordable housing was a carrot I kept grabbing onto, but bottom line (the owner) has a legal right to buy his way out of providing low income," said resident Rodney Buell.

Although the city has in the past allowed certain developers to pay into a fund for low-income housing elsewhere in the city, in lieu of adding low-income units to their projects, the city has no desire to do that in this case, Mitnick said.

"Obviously high-density residential cannot really apply to mobile home parks because you cannot stack one mobile home on top of another. So a mobile home park, by its very nature, is medium density," said Bill-de la Peña.

She asked if city staff members had contacted other cities to learn what they were doing for mobile home parks in similar situations.

City staff members present responded that their efforts weren't exhaustive or scientific, but an employee did some research on the Internet.

"We have done a fair amount. We will do even more research," Mitnick said.

Bill-de la Peña said she'd learned through her own research that other cities had mobile home advisory committees. San Jose offers a mobile home repair grant program by using redevelopment funds, she said, similar to what T.O. does each year when it gives businesses about $250,000 to help them with repairs and remodeling.

"A mobile home park advisory committee isn't going to address the issue that's before us," Councilmember Dennis Gillette said.