Law to protect seniors extended

ANTIOCH — City leaders this week extended an urgency ordinance prohibiting the conversion of senior mobile home parks in Antioch to parks for families of all ages.

The move comes after talks between city officials and the owners of Vista Diablo Mobile Home Park failed to reach an adequate compromise on how the park should be run. Park management has sought to raise rents and open the park to people of all ages, not just those 55 and older.

The City Council also directed staff to look into a mobile home rent control ordinance and research a possible zoning ordinance to protect senior housing. Such measures could possibly violate federal housing discrimination laws.

“I am fully aware that lawsuits are going to happen,” Mayor Donald Freitas said. “I tell my staff to always pick your battles. I’m willing to pick this as one of my battles, because — quite frankly — this is elder abuse.”

The issue first came before the council late last year when residents of Vista Diablo complained the park’s management company, Anaheim-based Sierra Corporate Management, wanted to raise rents for new residents to $1,100.

Abe Arrigotti, president of Sierra Corporate Management, did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting.

Vista Diablo tenants in their 70s and 80s who are on fixed incomes have signed 20-plus-year leases with annual rent increases of 6 percent, residents and officials said.

“The more I learn about what these individuals do, the more concerned I am,” Freitas said.

“It’s unconscionable — absolutely unconscionable. For them, it’s about money; to me, it’s all about greed.”

Mobile home parks have played a vital role in Antioch, providing affordable housing for senior citizens, according to a city staff report. There are three mobile home parks in the city, two of which are designated for seniors only.

Vista Diablo residents attended Tuesday night’s meeting but were not as vocal as they have been in the past.

“There’s not much else that can be said,” said Archie Gore, vice president of the park’s homeowners association. “I don’t think we have a lot of options left — I just hope we’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. I still believe the only permanent resolution lies in strict legislation at the state level.”

The city believed it had reached an agreement with Sierra Corporate Management in January, officials said. The owners of Vista Diablo, however, delayed memorializing the agreement and raised last-minute objections, prompting the city to pass its urgency ordinance.

The extended ordinance will be in effect for the next 10 months and 15 days.

Simon Read covers Antioch. Reach him at 925-779-7166, or sread@….