Rancho de Calistoga v. City of Calistoga CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

Appellant Rancho de Calistoga, a general partnership, dba Rancho de Calistoga Mobilehome Park (Rancho), owns and operates a 184-space mobile home park in respondent City of Calistoga (City).

1 Like other municipalities in California, City has adopted a rent control ordinance to address the unique attributes of mobile home ownership and park management. (Mobile Home Park Rent Stabilization Ordinance (Ordinance No. 644), Calistoga Mun. Code, ch. 2.22, § 2.22.010 et seq. (ordinance).)1 The findings supporting the ordinance include: “Residents of mobile home parks, unlike apartment tenants or residents of other rental properties, are in a unique position in that they have made a substantial investment in a residence for which space is rented or leased. The removal or relocation of a mobile home from a park space is generally accomplished at substantial cost. Such removal or relocation may cause extensive damage to the mobile home.” (§ 2.22.010, subd. (B)(1).) The ordinance sets a “base rent” for each mobile home space and places limits on the ability of a park owner to increase the rent over time. (§§ 2.22.040, 2.22.070.) The ordinance specifies that, in general, the…