Carson Harbor Village, Ltd. v. City of Carson Mobilehome Park Rental Review Board
Opinion
Opinion
Boland, J.
Introduction
Carson Harbor Village Mobilehome Park (CHV), owned and operated by Carson Harbor Village, Ltd., is an upscale 420-double-wide-space mobile-home park situated on 70 acres in the City of Carson. CHV is widely regarded as the premiere luxury mobilehome park in Carson. Of the 420 spaces, 407 are subject to Carson rent control laws. Eleven new spaces, completed in 1995, are not subject to rent control laws.
The Carson Mobilehome Space Rent Control Ordinance (Ordinance) provides for a mobilehome park rental review board (Board) to review property owners’ applications for rent adjustments. The Ordinance directs the Board, as a public administrative body, to implement and enforce the provisions of the Ordinance and to hear “all rent increase applications and determine whether to approve or disapprove a rent increase in the manner provided by Section 4704.” (Carson Mun. Code, § 4702(e).)
In June 1995, CHV submitted a general rent increase application to the Board for the 407 rent controlled spaces. The application was based on declining profitability calculations. Nineteen months later, in January 1997, the Board granted a monthly rent increase of $58.70,…