Owners of mobile home get reprieve

For the second time this year, mobile home owner Susan Bollinger may be faced with a choice: move it or lose it.

Bollinger and her husband used to reside in a mobile home they owned at El Morro Village in Crystal Cove State Park, but they had to relocate the home in March because the state plans to turn the property into a public campground.

The home is now in Costa Mesa on an Elden Avenue property owned by Bollinger’s family, but city planning officials say the 36-year-old home isn’t in keeping with the character of the neighborhood and could be a safety hazard.

The city told the Bollingers to remove the home, but planning commissioner Donn Hall called up the item for discussion, so the couple argued its case to the commission Monday. Now the Bollingers have another chance ? they can reapply to the city with plans that show upgrades they’re planning to add a garage and make the mobile home look more permanent.

In an interview last week, Susan Bollinger said she was among the El Morro residents who fought the state in court to be able to stay on land that is now Crystal Cove State Park.

When she bought the mobile home in 2001, she thought even if the state kicked the El Morro tenants out she could take the house with her, she said. Then she found out most mobile home parks don’t accept older homes, so it would be hard to find a new spot.

Thinking she could put the home on her mother’s property, Bollinger applied to the city of Costa Mesa for a permit for the home.

“We thought, you know, maybe this is meant to be,” she said. “We thought maybe that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t get our [El Morro lease] renewal ? me and my husband were meant to live near my mother and care for her in her older years.”

The Bollingers applied in January, and they didn’t have an answer yet when they had to move at the beginning of March, Bollinger said. “We ended up moving it on there [Elden Avenue] because we had to, and the city said, ‘You can’t move it here,’ and we said we had to or we’re going to lose our home,’” she said.

Susan Bollinger’s mother died in April. Susan will inherit a share of her mother’s property, but the case is now in probate court.

In a letter to the city the Bollingers wrote that they want to upgrade the mobile home to make it look nicer and meet code requirements, but some neighbors have complained to the city.

Six residents of the 2300 block of Elden Avenue sent the city letters to urge the commission to reject the mobile home because it will damage the appearance of the neighborhood and hurt property values.

They told the commission Monday that they don’t want to see the mobile home sit unimproved while the case goes through probate, and they worried about the safety of any construction on the home. Federal law strictly limits how cities can regulate mobile homes, including how cities conduct inspections.

“Taking bits and pieces of a mobile home that’s 30 years old and applying it to new stuff ? how can it meet code?” said Elden Avenue resident Doug Hiramoto.

Commissioner Jim Fisler questioned the Bollingers’ good faith in buying a home in a mobile home park that was slated to close and then moving it illegally into Costa Mesa, but other commissioners chose to continue the item to a June 26 meeting.

In the meantime, the Bollingers will submit plans for their improvements to the home. After the meeting, Susan Bollinger said she was happy with the decision. Her husband, Jim, said the couple invested their life savings into the home, and since moving it they’ve spent thousands of dollars on landscaping and a new fence.

“I think the neighbors need to understand, we’ve been trying to make it so it’s not an eyesore,” Susan Bollinger said.