Many public speakers who appealed to the Santa Maria Planning Commission to green-light new protections for senior mobile home parks identified themselves as tenants of the facilities that would be impacted.
But jurisdictional lines didn’t stop one Orcutt resident from voicing her support for the zoning overlay, during the commission’s first meeting of July.
“I live in the Sunny Hills mobile home community, which is under the county overlay, but I have many friends that live in the others that fall into this category,” Denise Regal said at the July 1 hearing.
“I’m kind of speaking on their behalf,” she continued. “The residents of Santa Maria’s senior mobile home parks made their decisions to move into these parks based on the reliance that these places, for many, would be their final home, populated by neighbors of their same age.”
Regal and several other speakers vouched for a proposed overlay, which adds a new zoning distinction to Santa Maria’s municipal code. If approved by the Santa Maria City Council, the city’s existing senior mobile home parks would retroactively be zoned under the senior mobile home category.
This rule would ensure that at least 80 percent of any applicable park’s units are occupied by at least one individual who’s 55 or older. The ordinance would require city staff to check in with each park at least once every two years to ensure the rule is being followed, according to the staff report.
“Specifically, this overlay aims to maintain affordable home ownership opportunities for residents aged 55 and older [and] prevent the displacement of vulnerable senior households on fixed incomes,” Associate City Planner Greg Vine told the Planning Commission.
During public comment, a representative from the North Santa Barbara County Manufactured Homeowners Team described the proposed ordinance as a tool to tackle a statewide trend.
“This is an ongoing theme. They want to buy a senior park, change the senior park from senior to all-age, scaring out some seniors. A 10 percent increase [for the next renters], right off the bat,” manufactured homeowners team Legislative Action Team Coordinator Steve Wagner said. “Look into what happened at Del Cielo in the county. You’ll see a formula that’s going on throughout the state of California: the targeting of senior parks to change them for mere profit.”
After Del Cielo Mobile Estates in Orcutt was purchased by new owners and came under new management, residents received notice in 2024 about the park’s intent to convert to an all-ages park. Residents reached out to Santa Barbara County for help, prompting the county to create similar protections for senior mobile home parks.
A 5-0 Planning Commission vote, followed by some applause, moved Santa Maria’s proposed zoning ordinance forward to the City Council for final consideration.
One question Planning Commissioner Robert Dickerson had for staff before the vote was whether future senior mobile home parks proposed for development in Santa Maria would automatically fall under the new zone, if established. Planning Manager Dana Eady confirmed with a yes.
Dickerson also asked about consequences for parks that attempt to convert to all-ages under the new policy, if adopted.
“So, if they aren’t qualifying as a senior mobile home park anymore, just like any other use, that is in violation of zoning—just like you can’t run a retail store out of a residential zone, or you can’t run a manufacturing business out of a small retail zone,” Assistant City Attorney Heather Whitham said. “They would be out of compliance with the zoning. And anytime anyone’s out of compliance with zoning we do have tools to address that. We have court actions that can be taken, … criminal avenues, civil avenues.”
This article appears in July 9 – July 16, 2026.
Gary Hall from Rancho Buena Vista is the person who deserves a majority of the credit for the Senior Park Overlay getting this far. I did speak at the meeting but he laid the groundwork with the city. He would be the person to talk to for more information.