Palo Alto City Council Approves Plan To Close Buena Vista Mobile-Home Park

Image via Friends of Buena Vista on Facebook.

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The Palo Alto City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an application that will close the city’s only mobile home park, a decision that has been in the making for two and a half years.

All nine council members voted to close Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, home to more than 400 residents, most of whom are Hispanic and with low incomes.

Toufic Jisser, who owns the 5-acre park at 3980 El Camino Real through a family trust, submitted an application in November 2012 to close the site and sell it to a private developer.

• Previous: Palo Alto Expected To Wrap Decision On Sale Of Low-Income Mobile Home Park

Under state law, the City Council can only approve an application to close a mobile home park, but can hear an appeal on proposed relocation and compensation measures.

Jisser selected Capitola-based real estate firm Beccaria & Weber, Inc. to conduct an appraisal of the mobile home park, which determined that the average value of each home was $18,816 in April 2013. A hearing on the application took place in May 2014 and later that September, a hearing officer decided that the owner could continue with the closure of the park with updated appraisals of each unit and a survey of average apartment rents comparing rates near Palo Alto and the ones at the mobile home park.

The Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents’ Association appealed the hearing officer’s decision in October, arguing that the appraised value of each home was too low. After two days of hearings in April on the appeal, the council decided to proceed with the officer’s decision and request for updated appraisals for the units.

David Beccaria, CEO of Beccaria & Weber, said in a letter dated May 5 that his firm would conduct additional appraisals if the City Council approves its original scope of work and methodology. Beccaria said in the letter that, “no changes should be made to our Scope of Work or our appraisal methodology.”

The nine-member City Council approved to proceed with an updated appraisal from Beccaria’s firm despite its previous comment that the scope of work did not reflect the value of public safety and schools in the area.

The Council also approved Tuesday to have a peer review on the updated appraisal from an outside appraisal firm selected by city staff. In a letter dated last Thursday, City Attorney Molly Stump identified Valbridge Property Advisors and Yovino-Young as two potential firms to conduct the peer review.

The hearing officer will also have to look at the updated appraisal. James Zahradka, supervising attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, which has represented the residents’ association since 2012, said today, “We’re disappointed that the council has authorized the closure.”

The Law Foundation hopes “that the relocation amounts will be much higher after the peer review,” Zahradka said.

Earlier this month, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian announced a plan to save the mobile home park through a partnership with Caritas Corporation, a nonprofit based in Irvine. The nonprofit’s “model is to acquire distressed mobile home parks and keep them,” Simitian said.

A total of $16 million was set aside early this year to help prevent the closure -- $8 million from the county and $8 million from the city of Palo Alto, according to Simitian.

Caritas currently operates 20 mobile home parks throughout the state and is willing to operate the Buena Vista park if the sale is approved by Jisser, Simitian said.

The supervisor said he has spoken with the park owner on the county’s offer. If the deal with Caritas is approved, Zahradka said it would be a “win-win-win” situation allowing the residents to stay in their homes, the owner to have a fair return on his investment and the city of Palo Alto to have a source of affordable housing.

--Bay City News

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