The purpose of this chapter is as follows:
(A) Mobile home owners have a substantial investment in their residences and appurtenances for which space is rented. Alternate sites for relocation of mobile homes are difficult to find due to restrictions of age, size, or style of mobile homes permitted in many mobile home parks, and related to the installation of mobile homes, including permits, landscaping and site preparation. Additionally, the cost of moving a mobile home may be substantial, and the risk of damage in moving is significant.
(B) Mobile homes are often occupied by senior citizens, persons on fixed income and persons of low or moderate income, on whom extreme rent increases fall with particular harshness. Many mobile home owners have a substantial portion of their net asset worth invested in their mobile homes. The continuing possibility of unreasonable mobile home space rental increases threatens to diminish the value of that investment.
(C) It is the goal of the City of Menifee's Housing Element to conserve and improve existing affordable housing in the city, and to prohibit conversion of mobile home spaces available for rent or mobile home parks to other uses unless conditions exist to maintain existing affordability.
(D) The economic conditions and recognized housing shortage in Southern California has the potential to detrimentally impact a substantial number of residents in the city, and impose a particular hardship on senior citizens, persons living on fixed incomes, and other vulnerable persons living in mobile home parks in the city.
(E) It is necessary to facilitate and encourage fair bargaining between tenants and mobile home park owners in order to achieve mutually satisfactory agreements regarding space rent which preserve the value of a tenants' mobile home and the value of the mobile home park itself. It is also necessary to protect the tenants from unreasonable space rent increases while simultaneously recognizing and providing a fair return to mobile home park owners.
(F) Riverside County Ordinance No. 760, as amended, enacted in 1996, and adopted by the city in 2008 upon incorporation, has been reviewed and evaluated and found to be inadequate for the needs and purposes of the city as reflected in the above findings, and the city's adoption thereof is therefore repealed with the adoption of this chapter.
(G) Administration of this chapter shall be under the general direction of the Community Development Director with general oversight responsibility vested in the City Manager.
(Ord. 2023-366, passed 3-1-2023)