The decision came in response to a letter sent July 7 from a lawyer representing all seven of the city's mobilehome park owners. In the letter, the owners requested changes to the ordinance that would allow for “fair market” rent increases. The letter, from Santa Ana-based lawyer Mark Alpert, alleges that current residents “enjoy rents below fair market levels” and says that changes in the law would save both the city and park owners on litigation costs.

After the letter was sent, city officials said that a more specific proposal was needed from park owners on what parts of the ordinance they wanted to change. On July 13, Councilmembers Teresa Barrett and Tiffany Renée met with Bill Feeney, the owner of the Sandalwood Estates mobile home park, who said that he had initiated the letter. In the meeting, he suggested some form of vacancy decontrol, under which rent increases would apply to new renters and not existing tenants.

“Although the park owners are advocating the implementation of vacancy decontrol, we want to discuss and formulate the details regarding exactly how it will be implemented with the city manager,” said Feeney in an e-mail interview. “It is ridiculous for the City Council to reject a meeting for lack of ‘specific alternatives' when the purpose of the meeting is to help formulate specific proposals!”

Barrett and Renée reported the meeting to the City Council on Monday, where council members decided not to discuss changes to the ordinance. The council's consensus was that the current ordinance is effective in protecting residents, and any attempt to change the ordinance may expose residents, many of whom are modest-income seniors, to unjustified rent increases.

Feeney's proposals, if enacted, would “change the whole nature of rent stabilization,” said Barrett. She said that Feeney knew of the ordinance when he bought the park, and that he made the choice to make improvements to the park, which he later cited as reasons for seeking higher rents.

“I don't think what he is proposing will help the city or mobilehome residents,” she said.

Councilmember David Glass said that mobilehome park owners “have been treated more than fair,” and that their lower rates of return should be expected in this economy.

The rent control issue has been an ongoing topic in the city's litigation in recent years. Feeney filed four different lawsuits against the city starting in 2001, claiming that the ordinance unfairly prevented him from making “reasonable” rent increases to pay for improvements to the Sandalwood park, which has 178 rental spaces. City officials say that Feeney has been aggressive in bringing lawsuits before the city, while Feeney has said that lawsuits are the only way to voice his concerns, because the city has refused informal mediation.

In 2009 alone, the city's Sandalwood-related litigation fees came to $80,000.

In May, Feeney dropped all of his outstanding lawsuits against the city, saying they were becoming increasingly costly. However, Feeney's letter said that “continuing disputes and legal expenses” are inevitable unless changes are made because “the status quo is not acceptable.”

Feeney could not be reached for comment about the specific proposals he presented for modifying the ordinance or whether specific litigation is in the works.

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