REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 26, 2024
FROM
MARK WARDLAW, Director, Land Use Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Closure Impact Report for the Glen Helen Mobile Home Park
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Receive Closure Impact Report for the Glen Helen Mobile Home Park located at 1924 Glen Helen Road (Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 0349-201-05, 06, 09, and 24) in the unincorporated San Bernardino area, submitted pursuant to Government Code Section 65863.7.
2. Find that the closure and change in use of the Glen Helen Mobile Home Park, taking into consideration both the Closure Impact Report and the overall housing availability, will not result in or materially contribute to a shortage of housing opportunities and choices for low and moderate-income households within the unincorporated San Bernardino area.
(Presenter: Mark Wardlaw, Director, 387-4431)
Body
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The applicant is responsible for all costs associated with completion of the Closure Impact Report.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This item considers a Closure Impact Report (Report) filed by Transwestern Development Company (Applicant) for the closure and change of use of the Glen Helen Mobile Home Park, also known as Freedom Acres - The Resort (Mobile Home Park), in accordance with Government Code Section 65863.7. The Mobile Home Park is located at 1924 Glen Helen Road (Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 0349-201-05, 06, 09, and 24), in the unincorporated San Bernardino area on approximately 31 acres. Originally created as an all-age nudist resort in 1950 with 34 mobile home spaces, the resort had a number of different name changes over time (Deer Park Resort, Buff Creek, and Tree House Fun Ranch) and transitioned to an adult-only resort known as The Freedom Acres Resort. In 2014, the nudist resort formally became classified as a Mobile Home Park with a lifestyle club, where 80% of Mobile Home Park was rented out on the weekends to visitors. In March 2020, the COVID Pandemic led to the shutdown of common areas, lifestyle clubs, and public gatherings. Many residents then left the Mobile Home Park voluntarily and the property was ultimately sold.
Prior to the closure and change of use of the Mobile Home Park, the Applicant is required to file a report on the impact of the closure and change of use. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65863.7, the report must include a replacement and relocation plan that mitigates the impact upon a displaced resident’s ability to find adequate housing in an alternative mobile home park, or if a displaced resident cannot obtain adequate housing in another mobile home park, in-place market value of the displaced resident’s mobile home.
Before approval of the closure and change of use, the Board of Supervisors (Board) must also make a finding whether approval of the park closure will result in a shortage of housing opportunities for low and moderate-income households within the unincorporated San Bernardino area. The Board may require, as a condition of the change, the Applicant to take steps to mitigate any adverse impacts of the closure on the ability of the displaced residents to find adequate housing in a mobile home park.
The Report filed by the Applicant outlines two options for the replacement and relocation plan for the residents. The first option includes payment of an appraised in-place value for a resident to vacate the mobile home and sign title of the mobile home to the Applicant. Option two includes a defined payment for a resident to relocate their mobile home to another park of their choice within 125 miles. Payment options range depending on the type of mobile home and size of the household, as well as other ancillary costs associated with accessory structures, moving allowance, and per diem.
The Report indicates that the residents of the Mobile Home Park received a copy of the Report on August 21, 2023, and in anticipation of its closure elected to enter into a private agreement with the Applicant to vacate the property in accordance with either options one or two in the Report. As of January 1, 2024, all residents have vacated the Mobile Home Park.
The Report also concludes that the closure of the Mobile Home Park will not result in a shortage of housing opportunities for low and moderate-income households taking into consideration the overall housing availability within the unincorporated San Bernardino area. As recently reported in the 2020 Housing Element, the total number of household units for the unincorporated area totals 135,075 units, with a total of 13,378 mobile home units allocated as moderate-income households. The loss of 34 mobile home units would represent a decrease of .025% of the total number of available households. As such, the Report concludes that no impact will occur. The Report also highlights that several of the 34 mobile home units were not occupied or used as a primary dwelling for purposes of determining an impact on housing.
State law provides that the Applicant or a park resident may request a hearing before the Board considers and makes a finding on the adequacy of the Report. The Applicant is not requesting a hearing and there are no residents of the Mobile Home Park to request a hearing.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jason Searles, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 5, 2024; Finance (Penelope Chang, Administrative Analyst, 387-4886) on March 11, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on March 12, 2024.