SAN MARCOS — The San Marcos City Council has extended a moratorium prohibiting the conversion of senior mobile home parks into all-ages communities through the end of the year as officials work toward a permanent solution.
The decision on Tuesday night extends an initial 45-day moratorium via an urgency ordinance adopted by the council in December, rising from concerns about Lakeview Mobile Estates, a senior park for ages 55 and older off Discovery Street, possibly being converted into an all-ages park without proper notice.
San Marcos has 12 senior mobile home parks, which are defined as parks where at least 80% of spaces are occupied by people 55 years of age or older.
Dozens of senior mobile home residents attended the council’s Tuesday meeting to urge the city to extend the moratorium and develop a policy to preserve this form of accessible and more affordable housing for seniors.
“For seniors in general to move into what they think is a retirement community with reasonable expectation that it will continue as such, I think it should be a sacred obligation and something that is honored by the local government and the park owner,” said Tim Sheahan, president of the San Marcos Mobilehome Resident Association.
Back in July, Lakeview owners distributed notices to residents outlining various changes to park rules and regulations, including a statement that the park reserves the right to convert the park to all ages at any time.
The City Attorney’s Office said that when they reached out for more information, a law firm representing the park owners refused to provide further details and argued that the city cannot force parks to provide senior housing. The council then adopted the moratorium with plans to extend it at a later time.
Since then, the City Attorney’s Office said Lakeview representatives have confirmed that they do not intend to move forward immediately with making the park all-ages. However, City Attorney Helen Peake said the city can still maintain the status quo for the time being.
“They don’t contemplate immediate changes, but we don’t know when that would change,” Peake said.
City leaders said they plan to spend the coming months exploring the implementation of a zoning ordinance that would require certain parks to remain as senior parks. Similar ordinances have been adopted in other cities, such as Oceanside.
Council members said the extended moratorium gives the city time to develop a policy that is legally sound.
“It’s a complex issue that will have to be worked out in a legal manner, and it will take time. Let’s do the work and do it right, and protect our seniors,” said Councilmember Mike Sannella, earning applause from seniors in the council chambers.
The city also set new guidelines for park owners for the period of the urgency ordinance. Owners who initiate changes to make a senior park into an all-ages site would first need to allow the city to review the potential impacts on senior housing, and any changes that would reduce mobile home housing for older persons would be held in abeyance.
Oceanside has a Senior Mobile Home Park District, which designates eight of the city’s 17 parks as senior parks.
While most speakers supported the moratorium, a representative for the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association urged the city not to adopt it.
Western representative Julie Paulie said the city is infringing on the rights of park owners and unfairly keeping younger families out of affordable parks. She also said the city did not perform outreach to other mobile home parks besides Lakeview.
“Please do not extend the moratorium, and defuse the panic. It sounds like the offending park has given indication that they’re not going to change, so there’s no reason to continue the moratorium and draw the city into costly litigation unnecessarily,” Paulie said.
Some senior park residents said their parks are not equipped for children, as many have narrow streets, do not have a playground and have risks such as unprotected swimming pools. Others reiterated that they moved into the parks because they were presented as senior housing.
Peake also clarified that the city is not attempting to make any mobile home parks into “senior-only” parks, noting that they cannot prevent 20% of spaces from being rented by families.
Some Lakeview residents also claimed they didn’t receive notice of the changing regulations from the park or received them at different times, a violation of noticing laws that left many residents in the dark.
“I don’t think the owner had an intent to follow mobile home residency laws. I think his intention was to hand a few [notices] out and call it done,” said resident Jeff Popendiek.
