by Ila Bell | Special to the Courier

Upland City Council voted 3-2 Monday to reinstate the city’s Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance after weeks of public resistance to its unexpected repeal in June 2025. The vote followed nearly two hours of comment from residents and mobile home administrators.

In the end the original ordinance was restored with an added provision regarding the sale of homes, with Council members Shannan Maust and James Breitling voting no.

Several Council members apologized to the overflow audience for what they characterized as a lack of transparency and due diligence on their part regarding the implications of the repeal last year.

“I did a poor job of informing the council of all of the elements of this rescinded ordinance,” said Upland City Manager Michael Blay. “The elements included a provision for rent control that had been in place for 40 years. I failed to provide you with a redlined version of this ordinance, text being eliminated, and so your vote back then to rescind the ordinance was based on incomplete information, and that’s my fault. I’m responsible for this situation we’re in tonight, and as a result, staff has brought forth options for the City Council to consider.”

Upland’s Mobilehome Rent Stabilization Ordinance was repealed in June 2025 by an omnibus ordinance for reasons relating to a general update in the city’s municipal code and “unworkable provisions,” according to Blay.

“That was one of the worst mistakes and the most impactful mistakes that I have seen as a City Council member,” said former Council member Janice Elliott during public comment.

The City Council was inundated with public outcry last month, mostly from elderly residents living in the age-restricted El Dorado Mobile Home Park after they received notice that their rent would be increasing substantially.

At Monday’s meeting the council debated between restoring the original repealed ordinance or implementing a revised ordinance. El Dorado manager Brian Bender voiced support for the revised ordinance.

“We care about our tenants, but we are not a subsidized housing authority, and we are not funded like one,” Bender said.

Upland Mayor Bill Velto also supported the revised ordinance. “What I have seen is how parks can deteriorate, dramatically and quickly,” he said.

The Council ultimately opted for the restored version, albeit with changes to section 5.68.100 that will allow owners of the mobile park to increase rents to market value upon the sale or transfer of a home.

The council’s decision to add a provision allowing for an increase in the land lease price upon sale of the property was largely aimed at promoting the physical upkeep of mobile home parks across Upland.

Bell is a sophomore writing and sociology student at Scripps College and is originally from Montana.