Marinapark to get closure records

Newport Beach city officials are close to turning over a pile of records on the decision to close Marinapark to homeowners there who have challenged the closure.

Marinapark, a 9.8-acre city-owned property on the Balboa Peninsula, has been the site of a mobile home community since 1956. The city in 2000 began looking at other uses for the property.

A proposal to build a luxury hotel on the property was rejected by voters in 2004. The City Council is now working on final details of a public park plan for Marinapark.

There are 54 mobile homes on the property, but only about 35% to 40% of residents still live there, said John Rettberg, president of the Marinapark Homeowners Assn.

To clear the land for the park, the council voted in March to start the state-required legal proceedings for closing a mobile home park, which include a 12-month notification period.

Rettberg said residents disagree with a city report that suggested homeowners be paid up to $23,000 each for relocation expenses.

The homeowners association filed a claim in May that argued the city did not follow legal guidelines for closing the park, and it requested up to $200,000 per home.

The city didn’t respond to the claim, effectively rejecting it. Now residents want records of the decision to close the park so they can file an official challenge.

“There are certain things you have to do to file a lawsuit against the city. This is just the first step,” Rettberg said.

In most mobile home park issues, the owner is a private entity, and the city can act as a mediator between the park owner and the residents.

“In this case they’re the judge and jury, because it’s their land,” Rettberg said, adding that filing a lawsuit is “the only way we can get an independent review of what’s fair in this circumstance.”

Rettberg also said state law requires the city to pay relocation assistance to residents, but Assistant City Attorney Aaron Harp disagreed.

The council can choose to require a park owner ? in this case the city ? to compensate homeowners, he said.

“The decision of whether to make somebody pay or not is discretionary,” he said.

City Council members also will discuss the Marinapark residents’ claim in a closed session today.