A Victory for Property Owners

In a victory for property rights advocates, Judge Vaughn Walker of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, recently  found the City of San Rafael's mobile home park rent control ordinance to be unconstitutional.  More specifically, Judge Walker found that San Rafael's ordinance resulted in an unconstitutional taking of private property  in violation of the Takings Clause of the Constitution.  The court's ruling was based, in large part, on its finding that the ordinance resulted in a taking of 75% of the mobile home park's value.  The court further found that the ordinance did not protect fixed-income residents or create more affordable housing as San Rafael argued.  Instead, the court found that the ordinance created a premium in the resale prices of mobile homes located in the protected park and shifted wealth from the park owners to mobile home owners/pad lessees.

Article Submitted By: Attorney Kevin Casenhiser