In a move to protect senior residents living in mobile homes in Santa Barbara, the Board of Supervisors approved two ordinances Tuesday to preserve age-restricted housing and ensure the integrity of senior-living spaces across the county.
Highlights
- The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors has passed ordinances protecting age-restricted housing for senior citizens in the county.
- The first ordinance aims to address all mobile home parks; the second requires that senior citizens occupy 80% of homes.
- The ordinance goes into effect next month.
Ordinance to Reinstate Age Restrictions at Home Parks and Require Occupancy of At Least One Senior Citizen
On July 15, 2025, the Board of Supervisors conducted a public hearing and adopted the Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay Ordinance Amendments Project.
The project created and applied two new zoning overlays in the inland and coastal areas of the unincorporated county, updated definitions for mobile home parks, and changed land use and zoning designations for two mobile home parks in addition to land use designation changes and consistency rezones.
A new Mobile Home Park Overlay would be applied to existing all-ages mobile home parks within the unincorporated county, and a new Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay would be applied to existing senior mobile home parks operating within the unincorporated county.
Last summer, residents of senior mobile home parks in the unincorporated county provided public comments at Board of Supervisors hearings to request that the Board take action to prevent the conversion of senior mobile home parks to all-ages. In response, the Board directed staff to develop an interim urgency ordinance to prevent the conversion of senior mobile home parks in the near-term and to develop ordinance amendments as longer-term protections.
At the November 5, 2024, hearing, the Board of Supervisors considered, and adopted the Senior Mobile Home Park Conversion Interim Urgency Ordinance. This established a moratorium to prohibit the conversion of senior or age-restricted mobile home parks to all-ages mobile home parks.
Residents at Del Cielo Mobile Estates in Orcutt have been vocal about changes at their mobile home park following its purchase by a new owner, reports KSBY.
One rule applies to all mobile home parks and reinforces protection for this particular type of housing. The second ordinance aims to address parks designated for residents aged 55 and older, where 80% of the units must be occupied by one person in that age group.
The County’s housing authority reports out of the 21 mobile home parks in Santa Barbara County, 11 have been designated as senior parks.
During deliberations, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino responded to criticism from Del Cielo representative Nick Ubaldi, who compared the ordinance to redlining and warned of potential discrimination lawsuits. Lavagnino dismissed the comparison and suggested financial motives were more likely at play, reports Noozhawk.
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of adopting the ordinances. They go into effect on August 14, 2025. Maps and a list of mobile home parks included in this ordinance can be found here.
[Ed Note: This article has been updated with new information and includes proper credit to additional sources for original reporting.]
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The Del Cielo representative, Nick Ubaldi, had the temerity to compare the new ordinance to redlining.
He obviously has no understanding of what redlining was & the devastating social & financial impact it had & continues to have on people of color in this country.
Thank you to Rep Lavagnino for dismissing his notion.