Griffith

Following an administrative ruling that he had violated defendant County of Santa Cruz’s rent control ordinance by eliminating garbage service without a commensurate reduction in rent, plaintiff Harold Griffith challenged the decision via a petition for a writ of mandate. The first amended petition urges that the ordinance is preempted by or is inconsistent with state law provisions prohibiting commercial rent control and regulating mobilehome parks. The trial court disagreed. On appeal, plaintiff reiterates his arguments. We disagree and affirm the judgment.

Background

Plaintiff owns the Willows Resort, a 45-site residential community having a few permanent cabins and a mix of mobilehome, recreational-vehicle, and travel-trailer sites. Seventeen to 20 sites constitute a discrete subset of the resort: they are mobilehome or recreational-vehicle sites that are occupied by persons who have been residents for a continuous nine months or more.

Plaintiff eliminated central garbage collection service and advised the residents to obtain individual service. But he did not offer a rent reduction to compensate. Several residents of the subset, including intervener John…