Palo Alto's Decision to Close Mobile Home Park Reversed By Judge

PALO ALTO, CA -- City officials will have to go back to the drawing board after the decision to close their only mobile home park was reversed based on a court filing from its residents.

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge on Dec. 21 issued a ruling granting a writ of mandate petition filed last year by the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association that claimed the City Council didn't correctly interpret the city's ordinance on mobile home park closures.

"Because the City Council based its final decision on evidence that does not yet exist and the City Council lacked evidence regarding the actual amount of relocation assistance that will eventually be provided to the residents, the Court finds that the Final Decision was not supported by the evidence," Judge Brian Walsh wrote in his 19-page ruling.

Walsh heard arguments on the case during a two-day hearing earlier this month at the Downtown Superior Courthouse in San Jose.

Mobile home park owner Tim Jisser filed an application with the city in 2012 seeking closure of the park on El Camino Real that's home to about 400 residents who are mostly Hispanic and living on low
incomes.

Jisser hired an appraiser in 2013 to determine the value of each mobile home that would be used to put together a relocation assistance package for the residents.

In 2014, the city held hearings on Jisser's application and a hearing officer decided he could continue with the park's closure, but the residents appealed the decision.

In May 2015, the City Council held hearings on the appeal and concluded that Jisser could move forward under conditions including updated appraisals of each home, which led the residents association to file its
petition four months later.

Walsh's decision came just before the holidays, which gives the residents security in knowing they won't receive eviction notices, said attorney Madeline Howard who represented the residents association.

The City Council approved Jisser's application last year without knowing how much the residents would receive in a comparable community to Palo Alto that offers similar amenities including high-quality schools, jobs and medical care, Howard said.

For now, the residents are safe from eviction under the judge's ruling that looks for potential harms to the residents should they be displaced, Howard said.

The residents association's goal has been to preserve the park and stay in the community, said Nadia Aziz, a senior attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley that also represented the residents association.

The judge's decision gives time for the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara to start acquiring the Buena Vista property under eminent domain, Aziz said.

During a special closed session meeting on Dec. 20, the authority's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a plan allowing its executive director, Katherine Harasz, to begin negotiating with Jisser for the
property, according to the Office of Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, whose district includes the mobile home park.

"With everyone pulling together we're well positioned to preserve 117 units of affordable housing, prevent the eviction of 400 low income residents, and ensure that the current property owner receives full and fair

market value for the property," Simitian said.

City officials said they're are still reviewing the judge's decision that seeks specific dollar amounts for relocation, Palo Alto spokeswoman Claudia Keith said.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock