Petaluma officials question legality of eviction notices sent to 71 mobile home park residents

PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- In the North Bay, more than 70 residents of a longtime Petaluma mobile home park are facing eviction notices this week.

Residents of Little Woods Mobile Home Villa are being told they have 12 months to vacate the property. Owners say they plan to close the park. But many say they have nowhere to go. Now, city officials are getting involved, questioning the legality of the evictions.

Tony Altamirano showed us the Petaluma home his family has lived in for 14 years inside the Little Woods Mobile Home Villa community. However, he's not sure how much longer he can stay.

"Feel very sad. I've lived here for 14 years. Everything that happened now is super sad, not just for me but for everybody," said Tony Altamirano.

"So, we got this big yellow packet in the mail with a lot of legal jargon, but it essentially says in 12 months we have to move out. The park will completely close," said Angie Cruz

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Cruz showed us the eviction notice all 71 residents got this week from the owners of the property, Harmony Communities, which owns or manages mobile home parks in California and Oregon.

Cruz grew up in the park.

"There's a lot of migrant families, single moms, families, seniors and people with disabilities and fixed income, a minority group as a whole," Cruz said.

"I am scared. I have kids. We don't have a place to live. This is my house, my home," Altamirano said.

Harmony Communities says closure notices were issued because they had no choice. The company says Petaluma's mobile home regulations, which were tightened in 2023, have made things challenging.

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In a statement, Nick Ubaldi from Harmony Communities said:

"The City rent control ordinance caps rent increases at 70% of CPI and does not allow any increase on turnover, making it impossible for businesses to keep up with inflation. A business that cannot keep pace with inflation is destined for bankruptcy. These parks represent the last unsubsidized affordable housing, yet City policies are destroying them and exacerbating the housing crisis.

Park owners have proposed a simple compromise: allow market-rate rent increases on turnover, while capping future increases at 70% of CPI. This change would keep parks open and end litigation. Instead, the City has chosen an expensive legal battle and left park owners no alternative but to close their business.

Petaluma taxpayers should be outraged, the cost has already exceeded $1 million with no end in sight. If the City wants affordable housing, they should build or subsidize it themselves, not force private businesses to bear the burden."

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"We don't believe the eviction notice it has legal effect. The park owners, at least for now, have not given us notice as they are required to do," said Petaluma City Attorney Eric Danly.

Danly says he wants more specifics from Harmony on how residents would be compensated for relocating.

"If the park would close without compensating residents for the investment in their homes, it would wipe out their investments," Danly said.

In the meantime, residents are encouraged the city is getting involved and asking questions. Many hope they will be able to stay.

"We're not giving up. We'll keep fighting and hope things get better," Cruz said.