Amador County – Joseph Chirco, owner of Rollingwood Estates said he believes he still has the right to subdivide his property, though the Jackson Planning Commission denied his application Monday.

Chirco said Wednesday by phone from Victorville that he was unsure of whether he would appeal the decision to the Jackson City Council, mainly because of how he said he was made to feel by the testimony at the public hearing, after he felt he went out of his way to help people.

He said he helped residents with rent credit and making minimal rent increases, based on the Consumer Price Index. Rollingwood’s property taxes have gone up $20,000 a year in the 15 years he has owned it, and he said he could have passed the cost on in a rent hike but he did not.

The opposition at the public hearing Monday “made it sound like they were going to lose their homes and none of it was true,” Chirco said, adding that it is “too bad for them,” because he tried to “give them the opportunity to buy the land they are on and give their home more value.”

“I guess you can just say everything you want in those meetings,” Chirco said, noting that one man said the rent will go up to $1,100 or $1,200 a month after a subdivision is made. Chirco said: “Where’d they get that?” He said he never said that, and he could not legally charge that amount.

Chirco said a subdivision would eliminate rent control at Rollingwood, and “it would go away after 4 years,” but “if they are on low income, they would stay on that for life,” and they cannot be taken off of that. He said “for all of those people who are low income,” it “would have been a good thing for them.”

He said he knew it would take a few years, and he thought he would sell the park little by little. As far as value, he said he “might be able to get a little bit more over time doing it this way.”

Chirco said whoever did his opposition’s strategy “did a good job, but it really hurt the people a lot.”

He said he was upset at so many “outright lies.” He said two recent prospective home buyers were scared away by people who told them the rent would go up to $1,100 and they would have to build foundations on the house. Chirco said it was not true, but the purchases did not happen.

Chirco said he “thought the commission would understand” how the conversion to individual lots would benefit the mobile home owners. But he said they “never asked how it benefits the residents.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.