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LAW OFFICES C;ILCll12IST X-, RL'TTER 1'120I~ 6SSIOI~AI. C'0121.OI2ATI012 Karen Diaz City Clerk City of Pleasanton March 6, 2009 Page 6 If and when the subdivider claims the Conversion has occurred and state rent control governs the rents chargeable to tenants who elect not to buy, any serious contention that the Conversion is fraudulent or illegitimate can and should be addressed to the courts just as in Donohue. See El Dorado, 96 Cal. App. 4"' at 1165-1166, 1166 n. 10; Donohue, 47 Cal. App. 4`r at 1168. A court can evaluate the Conversion process as a whole, including the number of tenants who indicated an intent to buy, the number of escrows opened, the availability of financing at the prices offered, eta If these and other facts demonstrate a sham in violation of state law. there is no doubt that a court would invalidate the Conversion and confirm that the park remains a rental facility subject to local rent control. That inquiry is premature, however, at the time local government considers the Conversion application -the first step in a long and highly regulated process. Moreover, Section 66427.5 makes clear it is not within the local authority's power to investigate or regulate these matters as part of the tentative n~act map approval process. Nothing in the 2002 Amendment changes this process. The survey merely provides additional facts that might be considered if the Conversion is challenged. C. Local Government Authority To Legislate In The Area Of Mobilehome Parks Is Further Constrained By The Mobilehome Parks Act. In addition to being preempted by Government Code section 66427.5, under California law, local government is without authority to regulate the construction and maintenance of mobilehome park facilities and infrastructure pursuant to the Mobilehome Parks Acts ("MPA"), Health & Safety Code sections 18200 et seq. The California Department of Housing and Community Development ("HCD") holds exclusive jurisdiction over mobilehome park construction and maintenance, and the MPA pre-empts any local authoritys attempts at the regulation thereof. See County of Santa Cruz v. Waterhouse, 127 Cal. App. 4th 1483 (2005). Accordingly, local governments cannot condition the approval of mobilehome park Conversion applications on the construction and maintenance of mobilehome park facilities and infrastructure. In fact, in light of recent attempts by local governments to regulate Conversions, the HCD issued an Information Bulletin in Apri12008 reminding local governments of their limited authority in regulating mobilehome parks, speciftcally in the context of a Conversion. Among other things, the Information Bulletin states, "The MPA contains an express preemption, with minimal express authority for local ordinances. In addition, the Legislature's findings support its intent to allow only very restrictive authority for local government action within the boundaries of a mobilehome park." In sum, the Planning Commission's decision to deny the Application, despite the recommendation in the Staff Report to approve it and despite the fact that there are no facts and/or evidence in the record to support a denial, is in error and constitutes an abuse of