[Adopted 5-14-1986 (Title 5, Ch. 5.60, of the 1986 Code)]
A. 
Establishment and membership. There is hereby established pursuant to the provisions of Acts of 1985, Chapter 610, a Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board in the City of Springfield to be governed by and operated in accordance with the provisions relative thereto of Acts of 1985, Chapter 610, or any amendments thereto. Said Board shall consist of five residents of the City to be appointed by the Mayor subject to confirmation by the City Council after review by its Planning and Economic Development Committee. At least one member of said Board shall be a licensed real estate appraiser or licensed real estate broker familiar with methods of property valuation from examination of the income derived from the property. No mobile home park residents, owners or operators shall be members of said Board. The first five appointments to this Board shall be staggered in length of service, the first appointee to serve one year, the second appointee to serve two years, the third appointee to serve three years, the fourth appointee to serve four years and the fifth appointee to serve five years. All subsequent appointments shall be for five-year periods. In the event a vacancy shall occur, it shall be filled in the same manner as that of an original appointment for the unexpired term. All members shall serve until a successor is appointed or they are separated from office by removal or accepted resignation.
B. 
Clerk. The Board shall elect a Clerk, who shall have charge of all documents, receive all filings and maintain records for the Board. The Clerk shall receive such compensation as the City Council may determine.
C. 
Powers.
(1) 
The Mobile Home Rent Control Board shall have the power to set minimum standards for use or occupancy of mobile home park accommodations and eviction of tenants therefrom, regulate rents, and require registration by mobile home park owners of information under penalty of perjury, relating to the mobile home park accommodations. All regulations must be adopted pursuant to and in accordance with the requirements of MGL c. 30A. Such rents, standards and evictions may be regulated by the Board so as to remove hardships or correct inequities for both the owner and tenants of such mobile home park accommodations.
(2) 
Said Board shall have all powers necessary or convenient to perform its functions, including the power to sue or be sued, compel the attendance of persons and the production of documents and information by subpoena, pursuant to authority granted under MGL c. 30A, and issue appropriate orders which shall be binding on both the owner and tenants of such mobile home park accommodations.
A. 
The Board, in regulation of rents, may make such individual or general adjustments, either upward or downward, as may be necessary to assure that the rents for mobile home park accommodations are established at levels which yield to owners a fair net operating income for such units. Said levels shall be reviewed, at a minimum, on a yearly basis.
B. 
Fair net operating income shall be that income which will yield a return, after all reasonable operating expenses, on the fair market value of the property equal to the debt service rate generally available from institutional first mortgage lenders or other such rates of return as the Board, on the basis of evidence presented before it, deems more appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The Board may, by regulation, establish further standards and rules consistent with the Acts of 1985, Chapter 610.
The Board may regulate the eviction of tenants from mobile home parks and may issue orders in furtherance of said regulation which shall be a defense to an action of summary process for possession.
A. 
The provisions of MGL c. 30A shall be applicable to the Board, as if said Board were an agency of the commonwealth, including those provisions granting the power to issue, vacate, modify and enforce subpoenas, and those provisions relating to judicial review of an agency order.
B. 
The Springfield Division of the District Court Department shall have original jurisdiction, concurrently with Housing Court Department and Superior Court Department, of all petitions for review brought pursuant to MGL c. 30A, § 14.
C. 
The Superior Court Department and the Housing Court Department shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this article and any regulations adopted thereunder, and may restrain violations thereof.
For purposes of this article and regulations issued pursuant hereto, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
MOBILE HOME PARKS
Any lot or tract of land upon which three or more mobile homes occupied for dwelling purposes are located, including any buildings, structures, fixtures and equipment used in connection with mobile homes, per MGL c. 140, § 32F.
MOBILE HOMES
Dwelling units built on a chassis and containing complete electrical, plumbing and sanitary facilities, and designed to be on a temporary or a permanent foundation for permanent living quarters, per MGL c. 140, § 32Q.