Laserfiche WebLink
LAW OFFICES <br /> GILCHRIST RUTTER <br /> PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION <br /> Karen Diaz <br /> City Clerk <br /> City of Pleasanton <br /> March 6, 2009 <br /> Page 3 <br /> purchase. Local governments, such as the City of Pleasanton, cannot impose additional <br /> restrictions. <br /> Indeed, the El Dorado Court conclusively determined that: (i) Government Code section <br /> 66427.5 controls a mobilehome park Conversion from a rental park to a resident -owned park (Id. <br /> at 1158 -63); (ii) the purpose of Government Code section 66427.5 is to provide uniform <br /> statewide standards for converting rental parks into resident -owned parks, thereby promoting <br /> Conversions to home ownership (Id. at 1169 1170); (iii) the requirements set out in Government <br /> Code section 66427.5 are exclusive and local government has no authority to impose additional <br /> conditions (Id. at 1164, 1166); (iv) if the requirements of Government Code section 66427.5 are <br /> met, the local agency must approve the Conversion application (Id. at 1165, 1167); (v) local <br /> government does not have the ability or the authority to determine whether a Conversion is <br /> "bona- fide" or not (Id. at 1165); and, (vi) mobilehome park residents do not have and cannot <br /> have the ability to veto a Conversion by withholding support for a Conversion application (Id. at <br /> 1172, 1181 -82). <br /> Although a handl of local governments, in a misguided attempt to frustrate and delay <br /> Conversions, have either passed illegal ordinances attempting to impermissibly regulate <br /> Conversions or have approved illegal resolutions which have impermissibly denied applications <br /> for Conversions, with one exception, these attempts have all failed.' <br /> Thus far, this firm has obtained several writs of mandate from trial courts throughout <br /> California, including Riverside County, Los Angeles County, San Mateo County, and Santa <br /> Barbara County, compelling local governments to correct their illegal attempts to frustrate and <br /> delay Conversions. Specifically, we have obtained writs (i) compelling two (2) local <br /> governments to overturn resolutions which impermissibly denied Conversion applications for <br /> their alleged failure to evidence resident support; (ii) invalidating a local ordinance that <br /> attempted to impose illegal conditions on Conversions, such as requiring that applicants meet <br /> certain health and safety requirements within the parks, provide certain maintenance documents <br /> and engineering reports, and submit a tenant impact report containing extensive and burdensome <br /> information not within the local government's proper discretion or consideration, in violation of <br /> Section 66427.5; (iii) vacating a resolution requiring an Environmental Impact Report as part of <br /> the Conversion process; (iv) vacating ordinances which imposed illegal temporary moratoriums <br /> on Conversions; (v) overturning the requirement that Conversions must comply with local <br /> general plans and/or specific area plans, including affordable housing requirements; and, (vi) <br /> The exception is with regards to the County of Sonoma in Sequoia Park Associates v. County <br /> of Sonoma, Sonoma County Superior Court, Case No. SCV 240003. There, a temporary judge <br /> issued a bare -bones opinion less than one page long upholding Sonoma County's ordinance <br /> regulating Conversions. This case is currently on appeal. <br />