[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
(a)
Composition, appointment. There is hereby established a mobile home
park rent control board consisting of five members representing the
public interest, none of whom is to be a mobile home park tenant or
mobile home park landowner, to be appointed by the mayor and confirmed
by a majority vote of the city council. The members in the first instance
shall be appointed for terms of one, two, three, four, and five years.
Upon expiration of a term of office, the subsequent term shall be
for a period of five years.
(b)
Voting, chairperson. Any action taken by the board shall require
a majority vote thereof. Within seven days after the appointment and
confirmation of the board as aforesaid, the board shall meet and elect
one of its members as chairperson to serve in that capacity for a
term of one year.
(c)
Compensation. Members of this mobile home park rent control board
shall receive no compensation for their services.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations, shall have the meaning given herein,
unless the context in which they are used clearly require a different
meaning:
Means the mobile home park rent control board as established
herein.
Shall mean a dwelling unit built on a chassis and containing
complete electrical, plumbing and sanitary facilities, and designed
to be installed on a temporary or a permanent foundation for permanent
living quarters, but shall not include modular homes set upon permanent
foundations.
Means a park licensed by the board of health pursuant to
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 140, Section 32B.
Shall mean any substantial rehabilitation, addition or improvement
which appreciably adds to the value of the property or prolongs its
life, or both, but not including ordinary maintenance and repairs.
Means rules and regulations as promulgated by the board.
Is mandatory, may is permissive.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
(a)
The board shall regulate rents, and shall promulgate such policies,
rules and regulations as will further the provisions of Chapter 243
of the Acts of 1982, and shall recommend to the city council for adoption
such ordinances as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of said
Chapter 243.
(b)
The board may make rules and regulations, compel attendance of persons
and the production of papers and information, and issue appropriate
orders which shall be binding on both the owner and tenant of such
mobile home park accommodations.
(c)
The board may refer any relevant matter to the appropriate city department
or agency for further action. The board may, at the request of any
mobile home park owner, render a binding opinion as to the impact
of proposed capital improvements on the rents.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1; Ord. of 9-28-2011]
(a)
The board may make individual or general adjustments, either upward
or downward, as may be necessary to ensure that rents for mobile home
park accommodations are established at levels which yield to owners
a fair net operating income for such units.
(b)
Fair net operating income shall be that income which will yield a
return after all reasonable operating expenses, on the fair market
value of the property, equal to the debt service rate generally available
from institutional first mortgage lenders or such other rates of return
as the board, on the basis of evidence presented before it, deems
more appropriate to the circumstances of the case.
(c)
Fair market value shall be assessed valuation of the property or
such other valuation as the board, on the basis of evidence presented
before it, deems more appropriate to the circumstances of the case.
(d)
No rent adjustment shall be effective without the prior approval
of the board.
(e)
In the event that an owner makes application to the Board for a rent
adjustment, the owner shall pay to the City of North Adams a processing
fee for its application in the amount of $500.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
The board shall regulate standards for use or occupancy of mobile
home park accommodations, and shall regulate eviction of tenants at
mobile home parks, and may issue orders which shall be defenses to
actions of summary process for possessions.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
(a)
The board and its actions shall be subject to the provisions of Massachusetts
General Laws, Chapter 30A (Administrative Procedures Act) as if the
board were an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(b)
_____
(1)
The District Court of Berkshire County shall have original jurisdiction,
concurrently with the Superior Court, of all petitions for review
brought pursuant to Section 14 of Chapter 30A of the General Laws.
(2)
The Superior Court and the District Court of Berkshire County shall
have concurrent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this chapter,
and any violations thereof.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
Violations of this ordinance or any order of the board shall
be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 for any one offense.
[Ord. of 9-15-1982, § 1]
If any provision of this chapter or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, the
validity of the remainder of this chapter and the application of such
provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected
thereby.
