Gene Pedrotti asks Planning Commission for OK to shutter East N Street property

Gene Pedrotti, who bought Benicia Trailer Court, 501 East N St., last November, will ask Benicia Planning Commission on Thursday for permission to close the mobile home park.

Though Pedrotti said when he bought the park he anticipated closing it so he could move his Ace Hardware business to the site, he isn’t asking the panel to approve his store’s relocation, Principal Planner Amy Million wrote in a July 1 report.

Pedrotti, whose Southampton Shopping Center-based hardware company has been a family-owned business for more than 90 years, has been a long-time critic of the way the shopping plaza is operated — particularly how Weingarten Realty Investors, its owner and leasing company, has taken away parking spaces in increments.

Pedrotti has pointed to additional garbage and recycling bins, banking kiosks and other structures that have reduced the number of parking spaces available to shoppers. At one time, he said, the center was supposed to have 734 parking spaces, but a variance obtained in 1979 reduced the number to 635 and additional structures have dropped the number to 557.

Business employees are told to park in back of the shopping center, he said, but those spaces have been cut by about two dozen spots. He has called his hardware store a primary stop for his customers, saying, “When you are ready to paint, you come to Ace.”

But at this time, Pedrotti has asked only to close the mobile home park, which would involve moving 17 homes, Million wrote.

“Future development of the site is not included in this determination,” she wrote.

Closing a mobile home park or converting the land to another use are actions governed by the California Government Code and the Benicia Municipal Code, Million wrote; while Pedrotti has the right to terminate the tenancies of those in the park, by law he must provide those residents with a relocation plan.

That plan must address how moving would impact the current residents, whether adequate replacement housing in mobile home parks is available and how much moving the homes would cost.

Park residents must get at least 15 days’ written notice of the Planning Commission hearing on the matter, and must be given a copy of the relocation plan. In addition, they must get a six-month advance notice of the proposed closure once Pedrotti gets a use permit for that purpose.

Million wrote that Pedrotti has complied with those requirements.

His relocation plan, prepared by Overland Pacific and Cutler, Irvine, was submitted April 2. In it, Pedrotti said the park has 25 pads for mobile homes, though only 18 are occupied, by 23 residents.

Of those households, nine have an occupant at least 62 years old or older, and 13 have one household member with a disability. All but one of the households provided information about their incomes, with eight classified as extremely low income that is less than 30 percent of the area median rate; six with very low income that’s 31 to 50 percent of the area median income; one with 51 to 80 percent of the area median income; and two with moderate income that’s more than 80 percent of the area median income.

The report said 22 available pads were within a 20-mile radius of Benicia Trailer Court, but most parks won’t accept mobile homes that are more than 10 years old. Only one of those in Benicia Trailer Court would qualify for the move, Million wrote, concluding that most of the homes would not be able to be moved elsewhere.

Pedrotti’s plan proposes providing assistance to help mitigate the costs to move, Million said.

If an entire mobile home is moved, Pedrotti would need to pay the difference between the current site’s rent and the replacement site rent for 12 months.

If the resident, but not his or her mobile home, is moved, payment must be equal to the difference between the current and the prospective new rent. For older or disabled residents, payment would need to make up the difference between existing and new rent for two years, Million wrote.

If the mobile home can’t be moved, its owner must be compensated for its disposal.

One resident, Rick Farmer, wrote Million on June 30, saying Pedrotti’s report didn’t mention long-term displacment costs. Farmer said some of the mobile home parks that have available spots aren’t in Solano County, and that one park mentioned — Tall Trees Mobile Home and RV Park — no longer is in business.

Should Pedrotti obtain enough documentation and permits to proceed, his date to convert the mobile home park to a new use would be six month to three years from now, Million wrote.

“It is important to note that the city may not preclude the applicant from closing the mobile home park,” Million wrote.

However, she did write that Pedrotti’s request “is unique, in that it is for a conversion of a mobile home park to a use that has yet to be determined.” But she wrote that Pedrotti has said he has no interest in operating the park.

Million wrote that she has concluded Pedrotti’s plan and the permit request comply with state and local requirements, including appropriate compensation for homeowners, and she has recommended approval.

In other matters, the Planning Commission will examine a draft by city employees who have suggested certain changes to the panel’s rules and procedures.

The Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.