photo credit: GoogleMaps
The entrance to Youngstown Mobile Home Park.

Arbitration continued Wednesday over large rent increases sought by owners of some of Sonoma County's more affordable housing---a Petaluma mobile home park. 

The virtual hearing will decide a dispute over rent hikes at Youngstown Mobile Home Park. No ruling is expected for weeks.

Like earlier hearings, dueling expert witnesses sparred over which expenses and costs may be included and used as a legal basis for an 'exceptional' rent increase...one exceeding the city's formula, based on the cost of living.

And that's what Youngstown owners are trying to do.

Here's tenant attorney Bruce Stanton questioning one of his own expert witnesses, appraiser Patricia Brabant Haskins, about rates of return on investment.

[Stanton] "So, is it your opinion that use of an 11 or 12 percent rate would not be proper?"

[Brabant Haskins] "Yeah, I don't, I don't believe that an eleven to twelve percent rate is, is reasonable."

[Stanton] "Would use of such a rate be a, a radical departure from anything you've seen in your experience with mobile home fair rate of return issues?"

[Brabant Haskins] "I mean I've seen, I've seen use, use 11 to 12 percent before, or pretty high rates before, but I would certainly consider it a radical departure from what I would consider to be a fair rate of return."

[Stanton] "In any case that you've worked on, have you seen a rate adopted anywhere in the range of 11 or 12 percent?

[Brabant Haskins] "No, I have not."

Separately, the Petaluma Argus Courier is reporting that park owners have filed a second federal lawsuit against Petaluma, claiming the city's newly created zoning overlay district for senior citizen mobile home parks, violates the U.S. Fair Housing Act.