Westwinds Mobile Home Park v. Mobilehome Park Rental Review Board

Appellant Westwinds Mobile Home Park, a general partnership (hereafter Owner), owns a mobilehome park in Escondido, California (hereafter City). That park is subject to an Escondido rent control ordinance which has generated significant appellate activity. Owner sought a rate increase under that ordinance, and the review board granted only a fraction of what Owner had requested. This lawsuit followed.

Owner’s claims on appeal fall into three basic categories. First, it claims the decision of the review board to grant it a mere $4 per month per lot rate increase is not supported by substantial evidence. Second, it raises procedural due process complaints about the ordinance. Finally, it claims the ordinance is facially defective because it effects a regulatory taking without substantially advancing a legitimate state interest.

I. Factual Background

A. History

In 1989, approximately one year after the rent control ordinance went into effect, Owner purchased the Westwinds Mobile Home Park (hereafter the park). Owner paid $1.7 million, composed of promissory notes in the approximate amount of $1,012,000 and the balance in cash. Owner acquired both the park and a number of…