This post originally appeared in the Sept. 23 Morning Report. Get the free newsletter in your inbox here.
The Imperial Beach City Council directed staff this week to draft new rental protections for the Miramar Mobile Home and RV Park. That park, as Jesse Marx reported in August, one of the last affordable housing options in the region, has been a hotbed of political organizing.
The park forces renters to move out every six months for at least 48 hours, with those who agree facing rent increases and those who don’t get evicted.
Park owners say the policy allows them to make repairs on site. Because mobile home parks fall under state jurisdiction, the city has been somewhat limited on how it can respond.
Councilwoman Paloma Aguirre proposed that the city consider an ordinance against the park that would institute anti-harassment provisions, a moratorium on evictions and a 3 percent rent cap.
Councilman Ed Spriggs acknowledged the ordinance would be an unusual step that could trigger a lawsuit, but said the situation called for it.
“Our responsibility is to help the people who live in our community,” he said. “And if that takes cracking some eggs, then so be it.”