April 10, 2015
The Jisser family, owner of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park at 3980 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, moved to close and convert the park.
Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association filed an appeal, represented by the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the Western Center on Law and Poverty, and Sidley Austin LLP, arguing that the owner isn’t offering a relocation assistance package that follows local and state laws governing mobile home park closures.
The approved package would pay each resident the fair market value of each mobile home combined with the differential between average rent in the region and the average rent at Buena Vista, and personal property moving costs.
However, an April 2013 appraisal valued the homes in the park at $18,816. Nadia Aziz, an attorney with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, said the firm used flawed methodology and failed to factor in the value of Buena Vista’s location.
Organizations mentioned/involved: Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP), Law Foundation of Silicon Valley