Trailer park law in limbo

By Myles Murphy

Ashland Daily Tidings

Ashland mobile home park residents and affordable housing proponents must wait - along with the Ashland City Council - for word from City Attorney Paul Nolte on a recent challenge to the legality of a proposed ordinance designed to protect trailer park residents.

A letter received Tuesday by the city from Portland attorney Jeff Condit, who represents the owners of Siskiyou Village mobile home park in Ashland, outlines a number of concerns with the ordinance as written. Primarily, Condit argues that the state landlord-tenant act preempts the city's authority to adopt the proposal.

"If that's correct, then it's a death knell for this ordinance," Nolte said at Tuesday night's council meeting.

Nolte did not agree initially with Condit's assertion, but advised the council to wait on moving the ordinance forward until he gets a chance to look into the issue.

The ordinance - spearheaded by the social justice group Oregon Action and residents of Ashland trailer parks where closures have been threatened - would require park owners to pay displaced tenants up to $5,000 in relocation costs, notify tenants and the city of any intent to sell the park, give tenants or a tenants' association an opportunity to purchase the park, and also complete a report on the economic impact of the loss of a park in the city.

Under state law, park owners are not required to pay any costs in some cases. When reimbursement is required, the money owners pay is limited to $3,500.

The council Tuesday decided to postpone the first reading of the ordinance, but did hear testimony from more than 20 people on the issue.

A majority were in favor of the ordinance, with the opposition coming mainly from mobile home park owners.

Opponents argued the increased requirements would force owners to raise rents, discourage people from creating more parks and cause owners to neglect the upkeep of parks to save money, creating slums in place of affordable housing.

"You're killing affordable housing by imposing this ordinance," said Bruce Davis, owner of Siskiyou Village mobile home park.

Ashland Planning Commissioner Marilyn Briggs argued against the ordinance, saying sub-standard trailers should not be protected because they're not as safe as more expensive housing options.

"An approval (of the ordinance) would be an emotional but false sense of accomplishment," Briggs said.

A number of park residents gave testimonials on the importance of their homes, and most said they would no longer be able to live in Ashland, keep their children in Ashland schools, and hold their networks of friends and businesses in the community if parks begin to close.

"This is our home, and we put so much love into it you can feel it when you walk in," park resident and 14-year Ashlander Divina Tilles said. "We certainly wouldn't want to lose it."

Government watchdog Jack Blackburn - who said he has experienced homelessness himself - said he supports affordable housing, but argued that the ordinance violates a number of state and federal rules, is unconstitutional, and is another example of improper government interference.

Ashland Housing Commissioner Nancy Richardson disagreed.

"Nobody really likes government intervention, but it's necessary sometimes," Richardson said.