Several weeks before Palisades Bowl homeowners were notified of owner Eddie Biggs’ intention to convert the mobile park to resident ownership, residents were already concerned about Biggs’ apparent violation of mobile home resident laws. These laws require an owner to offer both a short- and long-term lease to new tenants. According to residents, Biggs was offering only long-term leases. Michelle Bolotin, a realtor for Coldwell Banker, encountered a different rent problem when trying to sell homes in the Bowl. “I was in escrow with three properties in the park when I got a call from Biggs that the rent was going to go from $500 to $1,300,” Bolotin told the Palisadian-Post. This violates Section 151.06 F2 of the RSO (Rent Stabilization Ordinance), which states the ‘maximum rent may be increased by an amount not to exceed the rent on any existing comparable site in the park, or 10 percent, whichever is lower.” ‘We realized we needed to get the homeowners association together for issues like this,’ said resident Katy Montgomery. The final push for the residents came when they received a notice August 10 about the proposed mobile park conversion. The park, which consists of people of various occupations such as teachers, musicians, computer programmers and free-lance artists, also has a large number of seniors, retirees and disabled individuals. In an August meeting, Biggs’ conversion attorney Richard H. Close explained that no one would be required to convert, but as soon as one person did, L.A. Rent Control would no longer be in effect for the park. Low-income residents would still qualify for lowered monthly rates under state guidelines, which Close maintains would be advantageous for the residents. ‘They would continue to rent under a better rent control than they do now,’ Close told the Post Tuesday. Residents who make even marginally more than $38,800 for a single taxpayer would see their rents rise to market value. Additionally, residents would not find out the purchase cost of their individual pads until far into the conversion process–after 60 days and after the city made sure that the owner is complying with all the laws and has examined all the documents. The entire conversion process could take up to two years. One of the documents required by state law is a survey of whether the residents want their park to convert to resident ownership. If the majority of the residents oppose the conversion, their opinion is factored into whether the conversion is approved. However, there are problems with the law, according to Norm Kulla, Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s district director and senior counsel. ‘The interpretation of the law is unclear whether the survey means majority,’ said Kulla. who feels the law is open to litigation. Close agreed with Kulla’s assessment. ‘Legislative history does not have power to block the conversion because of the survey,’ he said. When the first homeowners’ meeting was held in August, more than 100 people attended. They elected officers, established committees and asked for donations towards the cost of retaining lawyer Sue Loftin. She is also employed by James Goldstein, a mobile park owner who is converting his seniors Colony Cove Mobile Estates in Carson. When Palisades Bowl association president Christopher Damon was asked why they would retain a lawyer who was helping take another park condo, Damon replied, ‘That’s why we hired her. We wanted someone who knew both sides.’ In late August, the association filed a grievance with the L.A. Rent Stabilization Board about Biggs’ violation of rent stabilization laws. They also researched state and mobile-home case laws and contacted elected officials to enlist their help to stop the conversion. They prepared a conversion fact sheet that they presented to Councilman Rosehdahl, which stated: ‘Residents are opposed to the conversion because it is NOT a bona fide conversion, but is being done in bad faith and merely to get out of rent control.’ Close disagrees with their assessment. ‘I think they don’t understand the benefits to owning land next to the ocean,’ he said Tuesday. ‘The residents who don’t want to buy are fully protected. Residents will end up owning space and paying less than they currently are paying for rent.’ Close said that the conversion process is an educational process and that there are funds available for every single person in the Bowl who wants to convert. He agrees that if a single resident goes to a bank and asks for a loan, he or she won’t get it. ‘Banks are not interested in one loan,’ Close said. ‘We prepare a whole package of the number of people who are looking and the amount of money involved.’ According to Close, moderate-income residents will find that there is money available through City of L.A. community redevelopment agencies. Bowls residents have also visited other mobile home parks in the city, which have about 6,000 residents, according to the Bowl association, and are some of the last vestiges of affordable housing. Although conversions have taken place throughout the state, this is the first park in L.A. to go through the process. The only other mobile park in District 11 is Tahitian Terrace, a seniors-only park adjacent to Palisades Bowl, where residents are worried that their park will follow suit. On Monday, Councilman Rosendahl and members of his staff–Kulla, Andrea Epstein and Jim Lowenstein’toured Palisades Bowl and spoke to officers of the association. ‘People who are living here now, they’re the ones I’m concerned about and their future,’ Rosendahl said. The slippage of the hillside below Asilomar and above the Bowl is largely responsible for many of the current maintenance issues in the Bowl. And the liability that could result from the hill creating future damage is a major reason the residents oppose conversion. A week ago, Dave Keim, chief code enforcer for the Department of Building and Safety, sent an inspector to the hillside after the Post asked for his department’s input. On Thursday the inspector reported that he had observed signs of slope instability. Keim sent the report to the state, which has jurisdiction over mobile parks. If Palisades Bowl converts to resident ownership, the residents would assume liability for the hillside, including remediation, according to Close. Shortly before Biggs took ownership of the park in August 2005, the previous owner, Fred Keeler, Jr., had a 10-ft.-high cut made in the toe of the mountain. ‘It was the wrong thing to do,’ Kulla said. ‘Neither the city nor the Coastal Commission gave permission for the cut.’ Representatives from the city, state and Coastal Commission are working together to decide what the next steps will be. The residents have been told that Tahitian Terrace owner Desmond McDonald, Biggs and the city are discussing a geological study, which could cost $300,000. When Rosendahl was asked whether the city could stop the conversion process until liability from the hillside could be determined, he responded, ‘We’ll look into it and find out who is responsible and what can be done.’ ‘No, it won’t stop the process,’ Close said. ‘I believe the conversion process is the key to solve the hillside problem and provide the financial ability and necessity for the slide problem to be dealt with.’
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