After purchasing land in Sonoma County, famous naturalist author Jack London wrote in 1905: “There are 130 acres in the place, and they are 130 acres of the most beautiful, primitive land to be found in California. I have been riding all over these hills, looking for just such a place, and I must say that I have never seen anything like it.” 

With its beautiful and unique environment, Sonoma County has never struggled to attract residents, tourists, and entrepreneurs. Like a microcosm of California, those who live and do business in this region are willing to put up with a lot in order to continue doing so.

Under siege from local governments for over 30 years, owners and operators of mobilehome parks in Sonoma County are well aware of this dynamic. They expect rent control ordinances to be made stricter every time they are amended, but still fight against these harmful changes and try to find ways to mitigate them. 

Such was the case again recently, when the City of Santa Rosa announced it wanted to amend its rent control ordinance again. The existing ordinance had set the amount a park can raise rent on spaces at 100% of CPI with a 6% cap on yearly increases, with no allowable increases on turnover. After months of negotiations with residents and parkowners, the ordinance was amended to allow 70% of CPI with a 4% cap on yearly increases, and 10% increases on turnover. 

Towards the end of the negotiating period in Santa Rosa, the neighboring town of Windsor became interested in a similar discussion. With its rent control ordinance previously at the same level as Santa Rosa’s, it felt natural for them to move in the same direction. An interesting fact of the situation in Windsor is that 100% of complaints received by the town were sent from residents who live in a resident owned park. 

In fact, the President of the non-profit in charge of the park is a former GSMOL statewide leader and attorney. In the Town Council meeting in which I spoke on behalf of WMA member parks, he defended the resident owned park and took fire from a group of residents who filled the audience. After years of advocacy in favor of rent control, he found himself on the other side of the controversial public policy. 

Negotiations in Windsor are still under way, but in the meantime the town passed an emergency ordinance that limits yearly increases to 75% of CPI with a 4% cap, and 15% increases on turnover. Parkowners remain hopeful that negotiations over the next few months will result in a permanent ordinance that looks better than the one passed on an emergency basis. 

In the meantime the reality remains that in Sonoma County, parkowners are unfortunately used to a business environment that is unfriendly, at best. 

Saulo Londoño is WMA’s Regional Representative for the Northern California/Bay areas. He can be reached at 714.227.4009 or email saulo@wma.org.