The California Outdoor Hospitality Association (CalOHA) celebrates its 50th anniversary in this year. But even though the association has provided private park operators with a half century’s worth of critical legislative victories, education in best practices as well as important marketing and media outreach services, many park operators have no idea what the association does, what it has achieved or why it’s important to be a member. CalOHA aims to answer these questions in a forthcoming book, which document’s the association’s 50-year history, its successes and the challenges that private park operators face in California today. CalOHA President and CEO Dyana Kelley said it’s important to share the association’s history right now because many longtime park operators are selling their businesses to new owners, many of whom have no knowledge of CalOHA history or of what the association does on park operators’ behalf. Charles Amian, who serves on the boards of directors of both CalOHA and Outdoor Hospitality Industry (OHI), said that if more new and existing park operators had a better understanding of the work CalOHA performs on their behalf, they’d likely see association membership as being critical not only to their individual business interests, but essential to strengthen the private park industry itself. With these thoughts in mind, CalOHA in the coming months will produce a history book that documents the association’s 50-year history and its key legislative, education and marketing initiatives to support private park operators in California. Jeff Crider, a longtime writer for RV Business and Woodall’s Campground Magazine who has worked for CalOHA for many years, has already produced a preliminary draft of the book, which documents the evolution of the private campground industry and CalOHA’s key accomplishments dating back it its early days as the California Travel Parks Association (CTPA), when it began shaping the legal and regulatory foundation of the private park industry in California. Crider, who has worked as CalOHA’s publicist since late 2008, said the project was eye-opening for him. “I’ve been working for the association for many years, but CTPA had already been around for more than 30 years before I started writing for the association, and much of their history I knew nothing about,” he said. In addition to interviewing Kelley and her predecessor, Debbie Sipe, Crider explored the association’s archives in Auburn, where he found copies of old letters, hand-written and type-written notes and memos by CTPA’s founders, including Eldredge “El” Welton of Orangeland RV Park in Orange and CTPA Co-Executive Director Judy Miller, documenting how CTPA came into existence in the first place. Crider also located and interviewed several CTPA old timers, including the late Virginia Welton, who passed away earlier this year at 103, and Dave Hodgin, CTPA’s first president, who created the Certified Park Operator (CPO) education program for OHI’s early predecessor, the National Campground Owners Association (NCOA), in 1979. CalOHA’s history book not only documents the association’s extensive industry education efforts, but its many government affairs initiatives during the past half century. “Through my research,” Crider said, “it’s become clear to me that without a state campground industry association there would be no separation in the regulations governing campgrounds, RV parks and mobilehome parks in California. Everyone would have to build their parks to comply with manufactured housing codes. Park operators would also have a much harder time removing guests that didn’t pay or failed to abide by other park rules because they’d be subject to California’s complex landlord-tenant laws. “Without a state association lobbying on private park operators’ behalf,” Crider added, “it’s anyone’s guess when or if Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and the Public Utilities Commission would have authorized the submetering of electricity in RV parks or when or if California would have outlawed the use of chemical-based RV holding tank products that damage campground and RV park septic systems, resulting in costly repairs while threatening local groundwater supplies. These are the kinds of battles that individual campground, RV park and glamping resort owners cannot successfully fight on their own.” Fact is, the private park industry needs an industry association working 24/7 on its behalf to kill harmful regulations and legislation before they become law, and to push for changes in existing regulations that benefit park operators across the state. “Parks today may have varying marketing needs, but everybody has legislative needs, and nobody has a legislative department capable of taking on the whole state of California,” said Mike Bell, a second-generation co-owner and operator of the San Diego Metro KOA in Chula Vista, which his father, Ted Bell, co-founded in 1968. CalOHA hopes to release its history book before the end of the year.
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Every year the CalOHA office receives dozens of calls and emails with questions about the DMV lien sale process, so we asked our friend and legal hotline member, John Pentecost of Hart, Kienle, Pentecost for some advice and clarification. Lien Sale FAQs Q: The owner has not been on site for months and not paid rent. Can I move the RV? A: If the tenant has been evicted and peaceable possession returned to the Park the RV can be moved immediately. Peaceable Possession is where you have had an Unlawful Detainer action, and the court has issued a Writ of Possession, and it has been acted upon by the local law enforcement and the tenant has been removed. If it reasonably appears that the RV has been abandoned by the tenant, and no one is living there, then you would not need to process an eviction. The RV would be considered abandoned. However, if you have squatters in the RV, then you would need to process an eviction and/or unlawful detainer, or forceable detainer. Q: If the RV is abandoned, can I move it? A: Yes, if you can move the RV without gaining access you can move it to a storage area on site. If you must access the RV to pull in slides or other actions, then you would need to submit for the lien sale and likely hold the sale on site. Q: Do I need an attorney to process a lien sale? A: No. In fact, the lien sale cannot be run through an attorney. An attorney can assist with the paperwork, but the park owner would have to do the DMV lien sale. There are lien sale service companies that can assist with the paperwork but the park owner would still have to apply for the lien sale. Q: The RV doesn’t appear to be registered or it isn’t registered in California. What do I do? A: If the RV is registered in another state, then you must file for a lien sale in that state. If the RV is not registered at all it makes the process much more difficult. Q: The RV does not have a VIN. A: A vehicle with a missing VIN must be referred to the CHP before a vehicle record is released to the lienholder. Q: I have been awarded Writ of Possession but the RV isn’t worth selling. Can I have it destroyed and removed from my property? A: If you have been awarded possession of the RV you do not have to have a lien sale. You are able to junk the vehicle as necessary. A lien sale procedure is a 12-step process that begins after you come into possession of a vehicle either through a Writ of Possession or Abandonment and determine if the vehicle is valued at over or under $4000. Over $4000 will start with an Application for Lien Sale Authorization (REG 656). Under $4000 will start with a Registration Information Request for Lien Sale (INF1126). From here the process is similar and it requires either you or the DMV to send notice to the registered owner and give a period of time for opposition. If a Declaration of Opposition is received all hope is not lost. A notification is sent within 16 days to the lienholder informing them that the lien sale is denied and cannot be conducted unless:
While a bit time consuming, lien sales are the easiest way to remove a vehicle from your property. We have made this process even easier by offering the forms on our website or by calling the office. Additionally, we have provided How To links below. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact our office with any questions. Thank you to legal hotline Attorney, John Pentecost and Legal Assistant, Violet Santoyo-Perez for their assistance.
The modern campground industry is traced back to the 1960s. A time when rapid growth in the RV industry created demand for lots of new campgrounds across the country. It was in 1962 when Kampgrounds of America (KOA) was formed. Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park franchise network was established in 1969. Big camping clubs were also formed at this time, including The Good Sam Club in 1966. (Excerpt from The History of the California Travel Parks Assn by Jeff Crider) It was the late 60’s and early 70’s when many of California’s oldest privately owned and operated campgrounds and RV parks were established, including: Wishon Village RV Park (1960) - Fountain of Youth Spa in Niland (1966) - Bodega Bay RV Park (1967) - San Diego KOA in Chula Vista (1968) - Casini Ranch in Duncan Mills (1969) - Casa de Fruta RV Park (1971) - Orangeland RV Park (1972) - Pismo Coast Village RV Resort (1972) - Village Camper Inn in Crescent City (1972) - 49er Village RV Resort (1973) - San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA (1973) - Carmel by the River RV Park (1976). It was also a time when the owners of these properties and others recognized that the rights of RV parks needed to be recognized and protected. Associations began to form across the country. The California Travel Parks Association was established in 1972. These early pioneers were passionate political activists that took many matters into their own hands. In 1979 they fought legislation to terminate HCD jurisdiction over RV parks. In 1992 they ran legislation to encourage California to conform to the Federal System of Highway Mileage Marker and Exit numbers. 1993 they sued the National Park Service (talk about some guts) citing unfair competition in Orrick. They fought taxes, ran economic studies, partnered with Ticketron to sell sites, and eventually created the Special Occupancy Parks Act that made significant changes to Title 25 Heath and Safety Code. The forefathers/and mothers of our industry paved the way for the industry we have today. While it has become more challenging for park owners to tap into their own political prowess there is still work to be done. The California Outdoor Hospitality Association fought legislation that would have punished RV park owners for following the RV park residency law. Had CalOHA not stepped in to oppose this legislation, AB 1472 would be on its way to becoming law. We need to continue the fight, but we need your help. Your membership dues allow us to help you. Please reach out to your fellow parks and encourage them to join in support of all private RV parks and campgrounds in California. Jeff Crider is currently in production of our association history book that should be released in early February. See you on the road. Dyana With AB 1472 in the rear-view mirror (for now), what lies ahead for the RV park industry? We have had a nice run of laying low and falling back on the RV park residency law – (California Civil Codes Chapter 2.6) to assist with removals and evictions. But now that we have been in the limelight it might be time to clean up our act a bit and fly right rather than under the radar. Many RV parks need long term tenants to stay afloat so it has become common practice to allow for a percentage of the park to become “residential”. The appearance of residential affordable housing is the very thing that will bury us in the legislature in the very near future. If it walks like a duck and floats like a duck, then it must be a duck. If we look like and act like low-income housing, then that is how we will be perceived and regulated. As an industry, we must operate our parks as though they are 100% transient even though we may have long term guests, but how do we do that? A good solid set of rules THAT YOU ACTUALLY FOLLOW. Rules are of no use if you allow everyone to break them, and our attorney partners will appreciate your adherence to your own rules when they must defend you in an unlawful detainer case. Utilize the Special Occupancy Parks Act and RVP Law. Did you know that your guest CANNOT occupy more than 75% of their site? It is the law. Do you know the civil code rules for accessory structures? If you don’t, you should. What about modification of an RV (you know like those window AC units)? Yes, that means the RV has been modified and cannot be in your park. What about an RVIA (or similar) seal of approval? The RVIA changed the wording on their seal to read “This recreational vehicle is designed for temporary recreational camping or seasonal use.” Manufacturers will no longer warranty a vehicle that is being “lived” in full time. An RV must have a seal, or the owner must self-declare for the vehicle to be in an RV park. Do you have a self-declare waiver? The vehicle must be operable and registered with the DMV (not as a non-op). This means that all the systems must be operable. Toilet, shower, refrigerator, AC, and appliances must all be operable as well as the vehicle itself. The vehicle and tow vehicle (if applicable) must be registered with tags on. This is a basic state law. If they can’t follow this, they will not follow your park rules. This might be difficult to hear, but parks that are operating as residential parks may want to consider reregistering as a mobile home park to avoid the inference on your counterparts who choose to be transient that all RV parks are low-income housing. A great deal of thought was put into SOPA by the founders of this association. It set to separate RV parks and their transient occupancy from full time mobile home parks. Now we are at risk of losing the very code and law that make us unique. See you on the road. Dyana |
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