Brown Suspends Mobile Home Regulations to Help Fire Victims

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed an executive order removing barriers to mobile home construction and placement in an effort to help residents displaced by the recent Southern California mudslides and wildfires.

The order suspends for three months all regulations included in the state's laws governing mobile and manufactured homes.

Brown wrote the order would help "quickly provide housing for those displaced by the wildfires and subsequent mud and debris flows."

It will, for example, halt local zoning laws that could prevent a family from living on their destroyed property in a temporary trailer.

Brown signed a second executive order to extend for six months a ban on price gouging in communities affected by October wildfires in Northern California.

California experienced a devastating fire season in late 2017. The Thomas fire burned more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers), making it the largest blaze in state history. Destruction from the fire set the stage for mudslides that then destroyed more property in January.

The regulation suspension applies to Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties. Brown signed a similar order for Northern California counties last year.

It also waives fee assessments under California's mobile and manufactured home acts. It directs the state's Department of Housing and Community Development to jointly develop temporary permitting, operating and construction standards to maintain health and safety.