The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has approved an extension of the ordinance preventing senior mobile home parks from lowering the “55 and up” age requirement to all ages.

The supervisors approved the extension in a 5-0 vote on Tuesday.

The topic was originally brought to the board in October after seniors raised concerns that the new owners of three parks in Santa Barbara and Orcutt would be changing the age limit.

The board chose to pass a temporary restriction on changing the age requirement across the county on Nov. 5.

The board’s vote this week will extend the moratorium until Oct. 25, 2025.

Residents from the parks thanked the supervisors during public comment for quickly responding to their concerns and passing an ordinance to address them.

“I owe you folks a huge apology, especially Supervisor Bob Nelson,” Steve Wagner said. “When this thing first came up, I didn’t have any faith that you folks would do what you did or with the speed that you did it.”

Nelson, who represents the Fourth District, took the lead during comments from the board, and said the ordinance has a major effect on the northern portion of the county.

His district includes Orcutt, which he said has a large concentration of mobile homes.  

Nelson also noted that he had spoken to Nick Ubaldi, the owner of Del Cielo Mobile Estates. Del Cielo was in the process of changing its age requirements when the situation was brought to the board.

According to Nelson, Ubaldi acknowledged that he was aware that the park was a 55-or-older community when he purchased the property. Nelson also said Ubaldi was informed by the previous owners that the property could not be converted to all-ages.  

“I just want to make sure that I correct the record (…) that he’s actually acknowledged that was how it was expressed to him when he purchased it,” Nelson said. “And so, the assertion now that he purchased an all-age park, I think, is something that he would like to change the facts that exist for his own legal purposes.”

Ubaldi spoke to the board during its Nov. 5 meeting, saying that his goal was to provide more housing for the county. He also claimed that Del Cielo failed to meet requirements by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be a senior-only community.

He said repurposing Del Cielo as an all-ages community would make the park more inclusive and equitable.

Concern over changing age requirements stems from the fear that allowing all ages would change the makeup of the park.

Nelson expressed support for the ordinance when it was first brought to the board. He said that allowing younger tenants to move in could bring more families who need different services and infrastructure — such as schools, sidewalks and playgrounds.

The concern is that the parks would have to be redesigned to accommodate the needs of a younger population and require construction, something that could be expensive and disruptive to older residents.

Critics of the change say that the lack of inexpensive housing for seniors in Santa Barbara County makes the mobile parks a necessity. They claim that changing the age limit would make it harder for seniors on fixed incomes to find places to live that are suitable for them.

Second District Supervisor Laura Capps supported the extension, and thanked county staff for quickly working on the ordinance. She also thanked the residents who brought the issue to the board.

“The need is so apparent,” she said. “We have very little low-income senior housing, and we need to protect the existing housing stock that we do have.

“So again, just thanks for moving so quickly, and thank you for those residents for using your voice and making us aware of this issue.”