Old Orchard Beach voters could soon decide on a new rent control ordinance

OLD ORCHARD BEACH (WGME) – Voters in Old Orchard Beach may soon decide whether or not to pass some form of rent control.

A citizens’ initiative of people from two mobile home parks has now collected enough signatures to possibly make further progress.

“We have to protect ourselves,” said Val Philbrick, a resident of Old Orchard Village.

Earlier this year, residents of Old Orchard Village and Atlantic Village learned that their trailer parks would be sold.

They tried to counteract this by forming a cooperative, but their offer was rejected.

“It’s like having to make another mortgage payment,” Philbrick said.

Their worst fears were confirmed by online reviews from new owner FollettUSA.

“Without some kind of rent control, there’s really nothing to stop something from happening,” Philbrick said.

Philbrick and others have collected signatures to change that.

“I believe this is the first time here in the state of Maine that there has been rent stabilization for mobile home parks,” said Diana Asanza, city manager of Old Orchard Beach.

Their proposed regulation is similar to one from California.

Increases of up to 5 percent of the basic rent are possible.

Anything beyond that would have to go through an approval process.

“We didn’t necessarily want to burden them with not making a reasonable profit, but at the same time make sure we could continue to live here,” Philbrick said.

FollettUSA’s regional manager said in a statement that they understand there may be concerns about possible rent increases.

“While we cannot predict or guarantee future rental costs, we would like to emphasize that all decisions regarding rent adjustments are reviewed annually with careful consideration of the needs and well-being of our residents.”

The city manager says there will be a public hearing on September 3rd.

“The council has two options: either send this petition to the voters or pass the ordinances as written,” Asanza said.

Normally, politicians do not issue a regulation on their own.

The city’s attorney is still reviewing the proposed wording.

“The homeowners there have worked really hard on it,” Asanza said.

If this progresses quickly, it could be presented to the electoral assembly in November.