W. Bridgewater, Mass., Gen. By-Laws art. 37 (2025) § Art. 37

ARTICLE 37
    MOBILE HOME PARKS – RENT CONTROL AND DISCONTINUANCE OF PARKS

        Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this by-law is to provide, pursuant to the provisions
of Chapter 15 of the Acts of 1992 (the “Act”), for the regulation of rents for the use or occupancy
of mobile home park accommodations in the Town, for the regulation of the discontinuance of
mobile home parks, and for the establishment of a rent control board with the powers and duties
prescribed herein.

       Section 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this by-law, the following words shall, unless
the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:

               a.     “Board”, the Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board established herein.

             b.       “Mobile Home”, a dwelling unit built on a chassis or frame and containing
       complete electrical, plumbing and sanitary facilities and designed to be installed on a
       temporary or permanent foundation for permanent living quarters.

             c.     “Mobile Home Park”, a park licensed by the Board of Health pursuant to
       M.G.L., Chapter 140, Section 32B

               d.     “Rules and Regulations”, rules and regulations promulgated by the Board.

                e.      “Discontinuance”, any change of use or discontinuance of the use of part
       or all of the land owned and licensed as a mobile home park requiring a two year notice
       pursuant to the Subsection 8 of Section 32L of Chapter 140 of the General Laws. The
       term “discontinuance” shall include, but not be limited to, the Licensee’s conversion of
       the mobile home park or part thereof to a condominium or cooperative cooperation.

Section 3. Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board. There is hereby established a Mobile
Home Park Rent Control Board consisting of five (5) members appointed by the Board of
Selectmen for a term of there (3) years, provided, however, that of the members first appointed to
the Board two (2) shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year, two (2) shall be appointed for a
term of (2) years, and one (1) shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Any vacancy
occurring otherwise than by expiration of a term shall be filled by the Board of Selectmen for the
unexpired term. The officers of the Board shall be elected annually by its members. No member
of the Board shall be a mobile home park owner or a mobile home park tenant.

       Section 4. Powers and Duties. The Board shall have the following powers and duties:

               a.      The board shall regulate rents and minimum standards for the use or
       occupancy of mobile home park accommodations and shall regulate the evictions of
       tenants therefrom. The Board shall act in the manner provided for herein on an
       application for a discontinuance permit submitted to the Board of Selectmen.

               b.             The Board shall have all powers necessary or convenient to
                              registration by owners of mobile home park accommodations; may
                              require information from said owners, under penalty of perjury,
                              relating to their mobile home park accommodations; may sue and
                              perform its functions; may make rules and regulations; may require
                              be sued; may compel the attendance of persons and the production
                              of papers and information; and may issue appropriate orders which
                              shall be binding on both the owner and tenants of such mobile
                              home park accommodations.

       Section 5. Standards for Adjusting Rents

              a.      The Board, in regulating rents, may make such individual or general
       adjustments, either upward or downward, as may be necessary to assure that rents for
       mobile home park accommodations are established at levels which yield to owners a fair
       net operating income for such units.

                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 such
       other rates of return as the Board on the basis of evidence presented before it, deems fore
       appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

               c.     The fair market value of the property shall be the assessed valuation of the
       property or such other valuation as the Board, on the basis of evidence presented before
       it, deems more appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

d.      The Board may establish further standards and rules consistent with the
       foregoing.

       Section 6. Summary Process. The Board may regulate the evictions of tenants at mobile
home parks and shall issue orders, which may be defense to an action of summary process for
possession.

       Section 7. Discontinuance Permit.

               a.     It shall be unlawful for any person to discontinue the use of part or all of
       the land owned and licensed as a mobile home park without having first obtained a
       discontinuance permit from the Board of Selectmen subject to the provisions contained in
       the Act and this by-law

              b.     The Board of Selectmen shall consider an application for a discontinuance
       permit upon receipt of such application from the licensee or other authorized person. The
       Board of Selectmen shall forward such application within fourteen (14) days to the Rent
       Control Board.

               c.      The Rent Control Board shall schedule a public hearing within sixty-five
       (65) days of its receipt of the application. Notice of the time and place of such public
       hearing and of the subject matter thereof, sufficient for identification, shall be published
       in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of West Bridgewater once in each of
       two (2) successive weeks , the first publication to be not less than fourteen (14) days
       before the date of the public hearing, and shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the
       Town Hall for a period of not less than fourteen (14) days before the day of such hearing.
       The Rent Control Board shall also notify all tenants living in the affected mobile home
       park accommodations of the time, place and subject matter of the public hearing. No
       defect in the form on any notice under this section shall invalidate any grant or denial of a
       discontinuance permit unless such defect is found to be misleading.

               d.      No vote shall be taken by the Board of Selectmen to grant or deny a
       discontinuance permit until a report with recommendations by the Rent Control Board
       has been submitted to the Board of Selectmen or twenty-one (21) days shall have elapsed
       after such hearing without the submission of such report, the Board of Selectmen fails to
       vote on the discontinuance permit within ninety (90) days after such hearing, no action
       shall be taken thereon until after a subsequent public hearing is held with notice and
       report as provided for above.

              e.     No Discontinuance permit may be granted except by a majority vote of the
       Board of Selectmen.

             f.     Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the Rent Control
       Board may, without holding a hearing, recommend the denial of a discontinuance permit

if a decision has been made with the regard to the discontinuance of a mobile home park
within the preceding twelve (12) months, and if the park licensee fails in the new
application, to allege a substantial change of circumstances since the previous hearing
which would merit the hearing of new evidence by the Board. In addition, the Board my
recommend denial of the discontinuance permit without holding a hearing if the
application is not in conformance with requirements of this Section or other applicable
regulations.

         g.    In determining whether to recommend that the Board of Selectmen grant
or deny a discontinuance permit, the Rent Control Board shall consider the aggravation of
the shortage of safe, decent and affordable mobile home park accommodations in the
Town of West Bridgewater which may result from the discontinuance, especially for
tenants of low and moderate income and handicapped or elderly persons on fixed
incomes. In making such determination, the Board shall make findings of the following
factors:

              (1)     the benefits and detriments to the person whom the Act and this
       by-law seek to protect;

              (2)  the hardships imposed on the tenant residing in the mobile home
       park accommodations proposed to be discontinued;

              (3)     circumstances demonstrating hardship and inequity to the licensee
       seeking a discontinuance permit;

              (4)     the rate of vacancy of mobile home park accommodations in the
       Town of West Bridgewater at the time the licensee applies for a discontinuance
       permit and the average rental rates for the available accommodations;

              (5)   the availability of land zoned and otherwise suitable for the
       development or expansion of mobile home parks.

               The Rent Control Board in, its discretion, may also review other relevant
factors in making its report and recommendations.

                For purposes of the Act and this by-law, the “vacancy rate” shall be
defined as that percentage of the mobile home park accommodation, which are empty of
mobile homes and are offered for rental to mobile home tenants. Further, to be
considered a “vacancy” the rental offer of the mobile home park accommodation must be
without entrance fee; without restrictions as to the age, size or character of the mobile
home; and without a requirement that the prospective tenant purchase a mobile home
from the park owner.

In its report, the Rent Control Board shall determine the current vacancy
       rate for comparable mobile home park accommodations in the Town of West
       Bridgewater. Any parties involved may submit evidence to the Board at the public
       hearing.

                h.     The Licensee or applicant seeking a discontinuance permit must make
       application to the Board of Selectmen for such permit within thirty (30) days of serving
       the tenants with the notice required under the provisions of Subsection 8 of Section 32L
       of Chapter 140 of the General Laws or within 30 days from effective date of this by-law
       if said notice has already been served, and is prior to the effective date of discontinuance.

               i.      No eviction certificate shall be issued by the Rent Control Board because
       of the discontinuance of the use of all or part of a mobile home park unless a
       discontinuance permit has been issued by the Board of Selectmen.

       Section 8. Judicial Review.

              a.     The provisions of Chapter 30A of the General Laws shall be applicable to
       the Rent Control Board as if the Board were an agency of the Commonwealth of
       Massachusetts, including those provisions giving agencies the power to issue, vacate,
       modify and enforce subpoenas and those provisions relating to judicial review of an
       agency order.

               b.     The provisions of Chapter 30A of the General Laws relating to judicial
       review of an agency order shall be applicable to a decision and order of the Board of
       Selectmen granting or denying a discontinuance permit under the provision of Section 7
       herein.

               c.      The Brockton Division of the District Court Department shall have
       original jurisdiction, concurrently with the Superior Court Department, of all petitions for
       review brought pursuant to Section 14 of Chapter 30A of the General Laws.

              d.      The Superior Court Department shall have jurisdiction to enforce the
       provisions of this by-law and may restrain violations thereof.

        Section 9. Penalties. Violations of this by-law or any order of the Rent Control Board
shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for any one (1)
offense.

        Section 10. Severability. If any provision of this by-law shall be held invalid, the
validity of the remainder of the by-law shall not be affected thereby.