The proposed ordinance would limit how much rent could increase for mobile home park residents in Old Orchard Beach. Follett USA is fighting back.
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — The California-based owner of a sprawling mobile home park in Old Orchard Beach is pursuing an aggressive campaign to defeat a proposed rent cap on the town ballot this November.
Residents of Old Orchard Village and Atlantic Village started a citizen’s petition this year, after learning that their mobile home parks were up for sale.
The measure, if passed by voters, would ensure lot rents for mobile home park residents could only increase up to 5% yearly, except under special circumstances.
“We’re a grassroots effort,” Val Philbrick, who introduced the ordinance and lives at Old Orchard Park, said Wednesday.
The real estate firm Follett USA, headquartered in Sacramento, secured ownership of the park this summer. Now, the company’s leaders are back in town, lobbying against the …