RP EARMARKS $50,000 FOR SONOMA GROVE RESIDENTSSUBSIDY DISAPPOINTS TRAILER PARK TENANTS WHO HOPED FOR RENT CONTROL

Residents of Rohnert Park's funky, hippie-era trailer park will get help

-- at least temporarily -- with rent increases following a City Council vote

Tuesday.

But long-term rent control seemed unlikely.

Council members said they would set aside $50,000 to subsidize rents at

Sonoma Grove, an eclectic mix of travel trailers and recreational vehicles

that came under new ownership late last year.

But the council stopped short of imposing a freeze, saying top rents that

will be about $500 a month still are inexpensive by Sonoma County standards.

And the council shied away from amending the city's mobile home rent

stabilization ordinance to include the park for fear it could be sued by the

new owners.

''I really hope it will help those individuals that need that gap filled,''

Councilwoman Amie Breeze said in backing the subsidy, which is expected to be

worth about $200 a month per tenant. ''It's the best we can do tonight.''

Many Sonoma Grove residents hoped the council would adopt more permanent

rent control and said they were disappointed. Some said they would eventually

be forced to leave the community established three decades ago by Sonoma State

University students.

''It's a mixed bag,'' said Candace Birchfield, a ceramics teacher who has

lived at the park for 22 years. ''They're not giving up on helping us. Yet

it's not quite what we hoped for.''

The rent on some spaces in the 152-space park will go up from 40 to 100

percent, according to affordable housing advocate David Grabill.

The rent increases take effect today.

Teresa Thurman of Lakeport, who with partners bought the 5-acre park for

$3.5 million in November, defended the rent increases as necessary to improve

what has been a loosely regulated community over the years.

Thurman said a recent inspection showed 29 RVs were not registered. Eight

travel trailers had second-story room additions attached to them, she said.

Also, Thurman said she arranged utility subsidies but had only 17 takers.

''We are very humanitarian in what we're doing,'' she told the council.

''We're here trying to keep this at a very low income level and we're doing

it.''

With the council action, residents who cannot afford rent increases will be

able to apply for the city subsidy at Sonoma Grove on Thursday morning.

There will be income limits to qualify for the subsidies.

The city will cover the difference between old and new rents until

residents can afford the new amount or find other homes, City Manager Steve

Donley said.

Despite the council's reluctance to freeze rents, it left open the door for

more talks about rent control at the park.

By a 3-2 vote, the council directed city staff members to report back on

the cost and scope of a study that would analyze the effects of rent increases

at Sonoma Grove on the city's affordable housing stock.

Such a report would be the first step in considering whether to include

Sonoma Grove in the city's mobile home rent stabilization program, which

covers several other parks, City Attorney Michelle Kenyon said.

However, Kenyon said even with the increases, Sonoma Grove rents would

still be affordable under federal guidelines.

Kenyon said the city would likely lose any legal challenge if it extended

rent control to the trailer park.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 521-5250 or

ppayne@pressdemocrat.com.