Pinewood Park is one of seven mobile home parks in Maine owned by Phillips International. Photo: Google
By Zendelle Bouchard
Sanford will become the latest community in Maine to adopt a mobile home lot rent stabilization ordinance when the city votes to enact one later this month. The action comes on the heels of an emergency moratorium the City Council approved last fall to protect residents of mobile home parks whose lot rents have rapidly increased in the last five years.
The proposed new ordinance is based on a model ordinance developed by the state in response to the influx of out-of-state corporations buying up Maine mobile home parks and rapidly increasing rents. Phillips International of Great Neck, NY, owns four parks in Sanford, including Marsh Brook Estates off Whicher’s Mill Road, Country Living and Old Colony Village Parks off New Dam Road and Pinewood Park off Main Street in South Sanford. The four parks comprise a total of 340 leased lots.
Several local residents spoke in favor of the new regulations at the May 5 Council meeting, including Michael Helie, a Country Living homeowner, who told the Council it would be “catastrophic” if the ordinance isn’t approved, and would cause many people to become homeless.
Janet Floyd of Pinewood echoed Helie’s comments. Her rent has gone from $350 a month to $610 a month since 2021. “I am going to be living in my car if this continues,” she stated bluntly.
Dick Russell, a Marsh Brook resident who has researched and documented the issue, complimented City Manager Steve Buck on the proposed ordinance, which he called the best one he has seen in the state. “Thank you. We came to you with a problem and you heard us and you answered,” he said.
Sanford’s proposed mobile home lot rent stabilization ordinance will define an affordability threshold as 40% of the median monthly social security income for York County. Any rent or fee increase will require review and approval by a Rent Stabilization Board if the lot rent exceeds that threshold. Annual increases will be limited to the most recent annual change in the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is less, unless a park owner can provide documentation to show that a greater increase is needed to cover operating expenses, or improvements that directly benefit park residents. The ordinance also states that park owners are entitled to a reasonable rate of return on investment.
Based on feedback and discussions at the May 5 meeting, the proposed ordinance may go back to a Council subcommittee for further changes before the scheduled vote on May 19. One possible addition would be to address the $1,800 non-refundable credit check fee that Phillips currently charges. Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy, who is a landlord herself, called that amount “atrocious” and State Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio said it may even be illegal.
With the exception of Councilor Jonathan Martell, who opposes any rent control efforts, all other members of the Council appear to be in support of the ordinance. Councilor Pete Tranchemontagne, who grew up in Estes Trailer Park, said the city’s passage of this measure will prevent homelessness.
Buck said once the ordinance is adopted, the Council will need to move quickly to appoint the Rent Stabilization Board as he anticipates a rush of applications from park owners. It would not be appropriate for park residents or owners to be board members as they would have to recuse themselves on virtually every decision, he said, but he hopes that Sanford residents with finance, accounting, lending and real estate experience will seek appointment to the Board.
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