Residents of the Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park won a victory Thursday night when the Capitola City Council voted unanimously that the park should remain open. According to City Council members, relocation benefits that the park owner offered to pay the residents failed to meet the requirements of California Government Code Section 65590 and 65590.1, better known as the Mello Act. According to the Mello Act, property owners must provide low and moderate income tenants in the coastal area with alternative housing arrangements when their current housing is slated for removal. Residents of the Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park currently pay about $300 per month in rent for their coaches, whereas the average rent in the county is $1,500.
The council ruled that the compensation offered by the park’s owners was unsatisfactory. According to Councilman Dennis Norton, it would likely force the residents to move out of the county.
Lawyers for property owner Ron Reed argued that the low rents indicate that he had subsidized the mobile park’s residents for years, while finding alternative housing for them could cost between $14 million and $23 million. According to his attorney, Mark Alpert, that would be an exorbitant sum “simply to get his property back.” Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
