Bothered by ?hot boats”
We live on Monitor Point in Clearlake; I have to put up with at least five men that own hot boats. Even with our windows and doors closed the intensity of the noise has our nerves on edge. They sit in their boats and rev their engines like it”s music to their ears. They are out at night (no boat patrol).
We don”t mind the other boats; even all the bass boats don”t compare. The boat patrol needs to patrol our area more often, so we can have some peace and quiet. If the boaters get a hefty fine, maybe they will slow down in residential areas and get legal mufflers.
Doris Nelson
Clearlake
Mobile home owners hold a unique form of tenancy
The mobile home owners” part of the mobile home task force held six meetings at senior centers in Lake County to discuss long-term leases versus a rent control ordinance. The overwhelming response was to get on with a rent control ordinance and why are you taking so long to do it. The reason is that the mobile home task force is exploring all alternatives before considering a rent control ordinance. We must protect affordable housing.
The goal of a rent control ordinance in the mobile home parks in the unincorporated portions of Lake County is to preserve affordable housing and to protect mobile home owners against unreasonable space rental charges as well as to provide park owners a reasonable rate of return on their investment.
Mobile home owners hold a unique form of tenancy. Unlike other homeowners, they do not own the land underlying their homes; but, unlike renters of apartments, they do own their own dwellings. Many have invested substantial sums in their mobile homes, creating a substantial equity interest. Despite their name, mobile homes, once set on their allotted spaces, are not truly mobile. Mobile home park residents” lack of mobility and lack of land ownership places them very much at the mercy of park owners, who, without rent regulation, can destroy mobile home owners” lives and investments simply by raising the rent to the point where the mobile home owner must either sell his or her mobile home at distress-sale prices, or submit to a voluntary surrender, foreclosure or bankruptcy.
State law does not regulate space rents in mobile home parks. Local rent control fills this gap.
Some of the reasons for the board of supervisors to pass a rent control ordinance are: It sets up a regulatory framework within which park owners conduct business with their residents; it keeps rent increases within reasonable bounds; as rents go up, the resale value of mobile homes declines; as rents are unreasonably raised, the ability of the prospective buyer may not be able to receive financing; it retains both mobile home park housing and affordable housing; it provides long-term stability for residents in view of the monopoly market in which they are trapped; and finally, rent control discourages speculation by park owners and prevents economic syndicates from buying and selling quickly for windfall profits. For further information, please call 263-8736.
Anita Sombs
Sterling Shores Mobile Home Park
Help youth find a safe harbor
The Lake County Community Action Agency is seeking donations from the community. The agency is endeavoring to create something that has been desperately needed for many years; each year dozens of children in Lake County find themselves alone and without a safe place to sleep.
These young people often are homeless through no fault of their own. Their parents or caregivers may be temporarily incarcerated, ill, or there may be great financial or emotional turmoil in the home.
A special account has been set up at WestAmerica Bank so that readers can make a donation at any of its branches — just indicate that contributions are for the Youth Safe House. All donations are tax deductible. The community thanks you in advance for your contribution in supporting the much-needed Safe House for Youth.
Georgina Lehne
Executive director, LCCAA
Don”t forget to write!
The Clear Lake Observer*American welcomes letters responding to articles and opinions that have appeared in this newspaper, as well as on topics of general interest. Letters can be sent to news@clearlakeobserver.com or mailed to PO Box 6200, Clearlake, CA 95422.
