The cost of living here is going up $66.00 a month. Joan says many of her neighbors can't afford it. "I don't think they understand what an impact this is on these senior people." Joan said.
The company that owns this park and the adjacent Arabian Villa Park spent nearly a million dollars repaving the streets, and is passing the cost on to those who live in the more than 200 mobile homes.
Residents held meetings and fought the increase for months. They thought they were protected by rent control. But the Clovis ordinance gives property owners the right to pass the cost of improvements onto the residents.
An administrative court ruling just upheld the rule. Now residents have to pay. Park resident Sylvia Hill is upset. "This is it, 66 dollars a month for 5 years that's it, we don't have no choice anymore." She said.
Average rent here is just under $400 a month. It's not clear how the owners will bill these residents. They could impose the $66 a month fee, or come up with other options.
Clovis Assistant City Manager John Holt says the city is working on their behalf. "The city is going to work with the property owner to determine what options if any they are going to provide."
One big problem is that the first payment is due July first and the ruling says the residents must pay retroactively from May 1st, that's nearly two hundred dollars the folks here hadn't anticipated.
Joan Hevron doesn't think it's fair. "I think it's treating seniors very badly".
