Santa Paula Municipal Code § 152.10 Maximum Increase in 12-Month Period

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this initiative, space rent may not be increased in excess of 12% in any 12-month period.

('81 Code, § 8.48.085) Penalty, see Ch. 12

(A) A park owner may not apply for a rent increase within 12 months of a final written decision, as defined in Cal. Code of Civil Procedure § 1094.6, denying a prior application which sought substantially the same relief based on substantially the same operative facts if one of the following applies:

(1) The prior application was decided on the merits.

(2) The decision to deny the prior application is under judicial review.

(B) No new application that meets the criteria of paragraph (A)(2) shall be filed or accepted while the judicial proceeding remains pending, starting from initial filing with the court and ending with the entry of final judgment.

(C) Notwithstanding subsections (A) and (B), a park owner may apply for a rent increase only if it is based upon a material change in circumstances arising after a decision on the prior application. The applicant shall bear the burden of demonstrating such material change.

(D) For purposes of this section:

(1) An application is not "decided on the merits" when a decision is based solely on procedural grounds, including but not limited to incompleteness, failure to pay required fees, lack of jurisdiction, untimeliness, withdrawal by the applicant, or other procedural defect.

(2) "Final judgment" means a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction that fully resolves the judicial proceeding and for which the time to seek further appellate or writ review has expired, or such review has been exhausted or waived.

(3) "Material change in circumstances" means a substantial change affecting a park owner's entitlement to a just and reasonable return under this chapter. A material change may include, without limitation: (1) a significant increase in reasonable and necessary operating expenses (which shall not include property taxes, change or transfer of ownership costs, any expenses related to the processing of any application, including judicial review of or legal challenge to any application or application-related decision of the Commission); (2) a significant decrease in gross income; or (3) a significant change in applicable laws, regulations, or governmental requirements that directly increases costs or reduces lawful revenues. The change must not have been known or reasonably foreseeable at the time of the prior application and must have occurred within 12 months following the prior decision. Increases to operating expenses due to regulatory increases in property taxes, including increases resulting from a change or transfer of ownership, shall be considered in an application submitted 12 months after the prior decision.

(Ord. 1352, passed 3-4-26; Am. Ord. 1353, passed 4-15-26)