[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: SB16-057 Senator Kefalas bill to promote mutual property rights of manufactured homeowners and park owners

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Morzel, Lisa

Council,
Tuesday I testified on behalf of the City of Boulder in full support of Senate Bill16-057, introduced by Senator John Kefalas. SB16-057 promotes the mutual property rights of manufactured homeowners and park owners. Unfortunately, this bill died 3-2 in the subcommittee and along party lines.
Testimonies by residents living in mobile home parks primarily along the Front Range corridor, and representatives of groups such as AARP, 9 to 5 Colorado, National Mobile Home Owners Association, Adams County Board of Commissioners, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Fort Collins Community Action Affiliate, Housing Colorado, Orchard Grove Homeowners Association, and the city of Boulder, were compelling.
Senator Kefalas vowed to return next year. Boulder will continue to work with Sen. Kefalas for a positive outcome in 2017.
For this, we need to vote in a senate (and house) with a Democratic majority. We need to make this a TOP priority in 2017.
Thanks to Senator Kefalas for introducing the bill and thanks to senators Matt Jones and Jessie Ulibarri for their string support.
More info:
SB16-057 would:
1. Require the Dept. of Housing to gather data regarding rents, vacancy rates, and other demographic information on an annual basis. Since we currently do not have this data, this is an important first step;
2. Provide both community owners and homeowners with opportunities to learn more about the laws that impact manufactured housing living so that both the park owners and the homeowners understand the rights and responsibilities inherent in manufactured housing community living; and
3. Create an alternative dispute resolution program so that issues that arise between the park owner and the homeowner can be resolved without the need and expense of court hearings.
SB16-057 makes sense. Community owners who operate good businesses will not be prevented from doing so. Homeowners who find themselves victims of abusive practices will have recourse. The Department will have a database from which to elucidate the extent to which problems exist and hopefully together all parties will continue to work together for the benefit of everyone in the State of Colorado.
The City of Boulder supports SB16-057 as it will clarify the standard for the appropriateness of park rules and regulations, will promote dispute resolution mechanisms that will facilitate fair treatment of both manufactured home owners and park owners, and will deepen our understanding of the role mobile home parks play in offering a valuable housing option in our state. This bill is an important first step to ensuring stability and fair treatment for those living in mobile home parks.
Boulder and the adjacent area in Boulder County have 8 mobile home parks with approximately 1700 homes and over 4000 residents, constituting approximately 4% of our population. Seven of our parks are owned by private park owners; one, Mapleton, was bought by the city in the late'90's and is now held under a land trust. All mobile home parks in Boulder were re-zoned in the late '80's/early 90's as MH (Mobile Home) making them permanently zoned for manufactured housing and preventing those lands from being redeveloped to another housing type.
Current Colorado state law governing manufactured housing communities (38-12-200 et seq) provides little in the way of protections for manufactured home owners or reasonable enforcement of the provisions that are in place.
The bill before the subcommittee today SB16-057 - is an effort to establish basic fairness for manufactured homeowners and park owners. This bill is not a heavy-handed approach at government regulation but rather an attempt to look at the problems facing manufactured homeowners, help them address their concerns, while at the same time supporting community owners who follow the law and who should have nothing to fear from this bill.
As a council person, I thank our staff,  Jeff Yegian, Carl Castillo, as well  as Ishbel Dickens of National Mobile Home Owners Association, for help in preparing my remarks.  I thank Senator Kefalas for his dedication to this important issue.
Lisa Morzel
Member, Boulder City Council