Owner of trailer park settles suit by tenant

Deirdre Newman

The owner of three trailer parks has agreed to settle a housing

discrimination lawsuit launched by a tenant in association with the

Fair Housing Council of Orange County.

Joseph G. Brown and three co-defendants, who own the Snug Harbor,

El Nido and Anchor trailer parks, agreed to the $210,000 settlement

on Nov. 18, the housing council announced Tuesday. The amount

includes $190,000 in damages and $20,000 to purchase the mobile home

of co-plaintiff Pamela Swick.

The council filed the lawsuit in November 2001 after Swick charged

that the defendants’ policy of discouraging families with children

from renting or leasing was a violation of federal law and limited

her ability to sell her Snug Harbor mobile home.

Connie Der Torossian, housing council spokeswoman, said the

council is thrilled with the settlement.

[“We’re] happy that this sends a message to people that you can’t

violate fair housing laws and get away with it,” Torossian said.

Brown, however, denies any wrongdoing. He said he only settled to

avoid a lengthy, expensive trial.

“It was going to be $400,000 to $500,000 in attorneys’ fees,”

Brown said. “The litigation costs were ridiculous.”

The problems began when Swick decided to sell her mobile home.

She and her real estate agent reportedly received a number of

inquiries from families with children expressing an interest. But in

each case, the potential purchaser was discouraged because of the

park’s policy of prohibiting families and children, Swick alleged.

Swick enlisted the council’s help and its subsequent investigation

found substantial evidence of discrimination against families with

children at all three trailer parks, including signs with the caveat

“No Dogs, No Children.”

This violates federal law because of a 1988 amendment to the Fair

Housing Act making it illegal to discriminate against families with

children.

The parks had been in violation of the law for some time before

Swick brought it to the council’s attention, Der Torossian said.

Brown contends he is prohibited from allowing applicants with

children in the majority of his Snug Harbor mobile homes by the

federal Department of Housing and Urban Development if they are using

the department’s special vouchers.

And Swick’s mobile home, a double-wide, is not included in that

ban, he emphasized. Moreover, she never handed in any potential buyer

applications, Brown said.

“[Swick] was never denied,” Brown said. “I never heard of any

[interested applicants], and neither did my manager.”

But Dave Levy, the council’s director of development, said that

Brown is still unclear on the correct interpretation of the law.

“He doesn’t understand the law and refuses to listen to those of

us who do,” Levy said. “HUD does not sanction the barring of families

with children from any housing except specifically exempted senior

housing.”

The criteria for the special vouchers are rent reasonableness,

quality and whether the size of the unit is appropriate for the size

of the household, regardless of whether the household contains

children, Levy said.

Based on the size criterion, the majority of Brown’s mobile homes

would be exempt from renting to families with children. But Brown

erroneously extrapolated that to justify barring children in all of

his mobile homes, Levy said.

As part of the settlement, Brown and the other co-defendants have

agreed to change the rules and regulations in place at all their

residential rental premises to delete any unlawful discriminatory

terms and conditions against families with children.

They also have to keep records of persons inquiring about renting

and make those records available to the council so the council can

monitor their practices.

In May, the Costa Mesa City Council denied a preliminary request

to bend existing planning requirements and allow for the land

occupied by the Snug Harbor and El Nido trailer parks to be used for

a five-story medical office building with a square footage well over

the maximum allowed in the city.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].