A group of low-income seniors in Novato is trying to buy their mobile home park from the city, but how the city ended up owning the property has a lot of people crying foul.  

Now, the residents say the negotiations have been one-sided, and on Tuesday night, they took their complaints directly to the powers that be.

From the street, a host of "Private Property" signs indicates the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club to be privately owned. But it's not. The 319-unit mobile home complex is officially owned by the city of Novato.  

In 1997, the residents formed a group called the Park Acquisition Corporation (PAC) to try to buy the land, but somehow the city, which co-signed the loan, ended up as the only name on the documents. For more than 20 years, resident Gloria Gilbert's monthly payment has gone toward buying property for the city.  But she, like a lot of residents, thought they would eventually own the land.

"Yes. Yes," she said. "And I was involved in the effort back in the late 90s, early 2000s, to get the city to sell the park to us and they refused." 

A city staff report from 2023 says, "There are no documents that indicated park ownership would transfer to the PAC, park residents, or any other entity other than the City of Novato after the Bank of Marin loan is repaid in 2027."  

But the next sentence says, "It is important to note that no City general funds were used to acquire MVMCC," admitting that the city paid nothing to buy the land. On Tuesday night, the residents took their frustrations to the City Council.

"No public funds have ever been used to sustain Marin Valley Mobile Country Club," resident Serena Fisher reminded the council. "Residents have paid for everything since 1997, including $18 million in loans and bonds and interest, with the understanding the land would ultimately be ours in 2027."

"We recognize that we need to be responsible for our own future and not rely on a handshake agreement," said Janine Bradley.  "We cannot rely on the city to keep our best interest as a priority."

The issue was not on the council's agenda, so members could only sit and listen. But they did talk about it at a meeting two years earlier, when the residents were again trying to negotiate a purchase from the city.  

At the meeting on Sept. 26, 2023, council member Pat Ekland, who was mayor at the time of the original sale in 1997, suggested that they consider transferring ownership to the park residents. That didn't go over so well with the other councilmembers.

"Transfering ownership? Um, that just — I can't agree with that," said then-mayor Susan Wernick. "From a legal standpoint, I think that could be considered a gift of public funds. I can't imagine how the rest of the community would feel if we transferred ownership. Maybe we should transfer other public buildings to other people in the city."

"There's no gift of public funds because not a penny of public funds has been put into the ownership of Marin Valley," countered Ekland. "It has been paid for, every penny has been paid for, by the residents who live at the park."

Nevertheless, the park residents have accepted the situation and are working to buy the property for a second time, this time offering the city $20 million. But the city has refused. Their appraisal lists the value of the property at $26 million and they say they will not accept less than that.

"Can you honestly say this is good-faith negotiations?" said Fisher. "So much work went into that proposal, for you, for your consideration.  This is certainly not a 'win-win' that you have talked about."

"Take the 20 million," said frustrated resident Bill Davis.  "Everyone wins. Have the attorneys paper it up. And you can get back to city business."

The residents are afraid that the city could sell the park to a private operator, potentially driving up rents. So, they have now upped their offer to $23.5 million, which the city is set to discuss in closed session on Sept. 9. It seems like the residents have every reason to be angry.  But instead of shouting, they ended Tuesday's meeting with a song.

"We were promised when the loan was paid, the park would be our own!" the crowd sang, "So if your promise you will keep, we can finally get some sleep, and once again feel safe and happy in our home, Marin Valley! That's our home! That's our home!"