The City of Santa Maria has a new mobile home model lease agreement, which aims to address the concerns of park owners and residents.
The city said they have met with park owners and residents throughout the past year to come up with the new model lease agreement, and while some say it is a step in the right direction, others are still not content.
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, the Santa Maria city council adopted a new mobile home model lease agreement which will be in place for the next 10 years.
"So the model lease is meant to give those residents another option if they are not offered a lease by their owner," said K.C. Chavers, resident of Casa Grande Mobile Home Estates.
While this will not cap rental prices on mobile homes in the city, which was something many residents wanted, it is another options for residents.
It is designed to prevent drastic increases while also giving park owners more revenue for park maintenance.
"Our negotiating team was making... and I think most of us as residents were making... the point was to help protect all the mobile home residents in Santa Maria- all of them," said Marshall Baldwin, resident of Rancho Buena Vista Mobile Home Estates.
Unlike before, the model leases now offer a second option for mobile home renters.
"I'm not sure yet personally if that is a good thing for me... or for us... or not," said Baldwin.
That is because the new agreement means the city can not consider a rent control ordinance for mobile home parks for at least the next 10 years.
Park owners must approve of the model lease agreement before anything can be put into place.
As of Thursday afternoon, owners for more than half of the mobile home sites in the city did just that.
No word yet on a specific date this new program would begin.
