Mobilehome Parks Program
History
The first regulations covering sanitation in automobile camps were adopted by the State Department of Public Health on December 4, 1920 and were applicable to all parts of the State. Responsibility for enforcement was placed on the management of each automobile camp. The regulations covered size of camp space, water supply, protection against fires, sewage and refuse disposal, construction and maintenance of buildings, and penalties for noncompliance.
In 1929, the California Legislature enacted the first state laws entitled the Auto Camp Act of 1929 to address the need for health and safety in auto and trailer camps.
After 1929, the laws were revised and restructured several times. By 1967, motels and resorts and mobilehomes were regulated under separate statutes from parks, the Commission of Housing and Community Development had been established, and the Mobilehome Parks Act had been enacted as Division 13, Part 2.1 of the California Health and Safety Code.
In 1980, the Commission of Housing and Community Development was eliminated and its powers were vested in the Department of Housing and Community Development. The same year legislation was enacted for mobilehome and commercial coach foundation systems. In 1985 the regulations for Earthquake Resistant Bracing Systems (ERBS) were adopted by the Department mandating certification of ERBS. The certification requirements were followed in 1990 with the adoption of regulations which required installation permits be obtained and inspection conducted for ERBS installations.
In 1991 legislation was enacted mandating each enforcement agency enter and inspect all mobilehome parks, within their jurisdiction, for compliance with the Mobilehome Parks Act and regulations contained in the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Division I, Chapter 2.
After receiving authority from the Legislature in 1994, the Department adopted regulations mandating the installation of listed tie down assemblies or engineered tie down systems for all manufactured homes being installed for the first time or being relocated to another site. In addition, the new regulations required most support system devices to have a physical connection between the manufactured home, its support piers and the footing which the pier set upon.