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M~ LAW OFFICES GILCHRIST &a RUTTER PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION WILSHIRE PALISADES 9UILOING 1299 OCEAN AVENUE, SUITE 900 SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA 90401-t 000 Mazch 25, 2009 Vta FEnEx Mayor Jennifer Hosterman Vice Mayor Cheryl Cook-Kallio Councilmember Cindy McGovern Councilmember Matt Sullivan Councilmember Jerry Thorne Pleasanton City Council 200 Old Bernal Avenue Pleasanton, California 94566 CITY OF PLEASANTON MAR 2 6 2009 CITY ATTORNEY TELEPHONE (310)393-4000 FACSIMILE (3t0) 394-a700 E-MAIL' rclosa®gilch rlstruttar.cam Re: Conversion to Resident Ownership of Vineyadd Mobile Villas City Council Hearing: April 7, 2009 Dear Mayor Hosterman, Vice Mayor Cook-Kallio, and Councilmembers McGovern, Sullivan, and Thorne: On April 7`h you will be considering the approval of the conversion of Vineyard Mobile Villas to resident ownership. While you may have been presented with much legal reasoning as to the conversion process and the limitations of the law governing your role in the approval process, you may still be wondering why you should approve this project. The law that governs resident ownership of mobilehome pazks was created to provide residents, the vast majority of whom aze of lower income, an opportunity to own real estate, which they would not otherwise be able to afford. The same law that provides this opportunity also provides strict rent protection for those lower income residents who choose to remain renters. No residents will be displaced by the conversion. PROTECTING AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING: The average mobilehome pazk in California consists of more than 80% lower income residents and, as a senior park, it is estimated that an even greater number of Vineyard residents are lower income. This means that the rent for the vast majority of residents will be equally if not better protected after conversion than it is today. For those residents who ultimately decide that they do not wish to own, the law provides that they may stay and rent for as long as they choose with protection for future rent increases. Current law states that for lower income households (in Pleasanton, afour-person household that makes 566,250 per year or less qualifies as lower income) that choose to continue to rent, the rent can never increase more than the average increase in the previous four years or CPI, P .,±^er a ,M m^~YT ~ , ~., , :.,.. FI