CITY MAY TAKE OVER MOBILE-HOME PARKS.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer PALMDALE - Tired of subsidizing three mobile-home parks, Palmdale officials plan to take over their operation from a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. . City officials believe they can save $348,000 next year by taking over Boulder Boulder, city, United States Boulder, city (1990 pop. 83,312), seat of Boulder co., N central Colo.; inc. 1871. A Rocky Mountain resort and a suburb of Denver, it is the seat of the Univ. of Colorado (1876). Lake, Boulders at the Ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. and Boulders at the Ranch II parks and reducing the vacancy VACANCY. A place which is empty. The term is principally applied to cases where an office is not filled. 2. By the constitution of the United States, the president has the power to fill up vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate. rate, now above 20 percent. ``The only way to get the performance we want may be take over direct ownership,'' Mayor Jim Ledford said Monday. If the council votes Wednesday for the plan, it would mark a new phase for the city in becoming a residential landlord. The city in the past has always turned to nonprofit organizations when it bought rental property officials decided needed to be cleaned up and run better. The city bought the three mobile-home parks in 1997 for $20.6 million after threatening the owner with an eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in action. City officials said city ownership would rein in rein in Verb 1. to stop (a horse) by pulling on the reins 2. to restrict or stop: either prices or wage packets had to be reined in Verb 1. rising rents and stabilize stabilize See peg. management. The city turned over the parks to LINC Housing of Long Beach under an agreement that gave the organization an option to purchase the parks any time before 2032. LINC Housing operates 21 apartment houses and mobile-home parks around Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, for low- and moderate-income tenants. The city issued bonds to finance the purchase, and under the agreement it made the interest payments if rents weren't sufficient. Since 1997, the city has paid more than $1.4 million to cover the shortfall, city officials said. A November 2001 report from Urban Land Economics Group said the mobile-home parks likely will need city subsidies until after 2012. The report said the quickest and most promising solution would be to transfer ownership of the three parks to the city's housing authority. LINC Housing officials could not be reached Monday for comment. The City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on reacquiring the three parks, starting a search for a professional management company to run them, and approving the hiring of a city housing coordinator, whose salary and benefits would total $71,120 a year. The housing coordinator would be responsible for marketing the parks to prospective tenants more aggressively, officials said. The city also proposes creating a seven-person Civic Improvement Committee composed of city staff members and tenants to oversee the parks and resolve tenants' complaints. City officials suggested that the panel consist of four city staff members and one tenant from each park. The City Council meeting will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the council chambers, 38300 Sierra Highway Sierra Highway is a road in Southern California, United States. It runs from Tunnel Station near the north limit of the City of Los Angeles, where it intersects with San Fernando Road and Foothill Boulevard, as well as Interstate 5, and continues north to Mojave, mostly paralleling . CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The Boulders is one of three mobile-home parks Palmdale is considering taking over. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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