Cavalier Mobile Estates is one of 18 mobilehome parks in the City of Oceanside. The mobile home park owners in Oceanside, including Cavalier, have been suffering under a confiscatory regime of rent control, whereby space rents are half of fair market value.
Cavalier filed an application for a subdivision map so the park could convert to resident ownership. A subdivision allows the park owners to sell the lots to the tenants at fair market value. The law also allows for rents to be raised to market value over time on lots which have not yet sold.
These “conversions” are protected by state law which limits the scope of the local governments’ review of such applications. Sadly, state law has not stopped cities that are politically motivated from attempting to block subdivisions. The Oceanside City Council voted to deny the applications because a majority of residents opposed the subdivision.
Cavalier filed suit in San Diego County Superior Court, challenging the City’s decision. On November 4, 2011, Superior Court Judge Stern reversed the City’s decision and held that the City could not deny the subdivision application based on resident opposition and that the City had to comply with government code.
Cavalier is owned by a large group of family investors, managed by Brian Alex with support of Lillian Chang. These long-time owners will hopefully very soon be able to realize the value of their investment and, in the process, help other owners in Oceanside do the same.
Lillian kindly expressed her appreciation for the work of Mark Alpert and the guidance of Rob Coldren. We appreciate their confidence in Hart, King & Coldren. However, there have been “bumps in the road” to get to this point. We know that progress is only made because park owners are willing to risk precious, limited resources in an effort to protect their property rights. The next time you see Brian or Lillian at an industry meeting, be sure to congratulate them and thank them for their efforts!
For more information please contact myself or Mark Alpert at HK&C at 714-432-8700 or via email at email hidden; JavaScript is required or email hidden; JavaScript is required.