Residents of the only two mobile home parks in Waterville won’t have to pay a rental lot fee increase for at least several months.

The City Council voted 6-0 this week to approve a temporary moratorium on such increases to give the city time to craft a mobile home lot rental stabilization ordinance from language the state is developing as part of rules regarding mobile home parks.

Park residents have complained to the city that their lot rental fees have increased every year and they recently received letters from park owners that their fee will go to $600, which they can’t afford. They said they fear they will be forced to leave their homes with no place to go because apartment rentals are high and purchasing a home is cost prohibitive. Many park residents are retirees on fixed incomes.

Gerry York, who lives in Pooler’s Parkway, approached the podium with use of a walker. He said the lot fees have increased every year and this year’s was a big one. He and his family were homeless for a while and finally a pastor sold him a trailer from the mid-1960s for a reasonable price. He said he teaches a couple of days a week but if he didn’t do that, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the trailer. He asked to speak with the park owners, he said, but was told by park manager that they couldn’t give out that information.

“They said they had to raise the rent to continue to provide the same superb service that they’ve always provided,” York said.

His comment drew laughter from a packed council chamber.

The council on Aug. 16 took a first vote to approve the moratorium and a second vote was needed to finalize it. Councilors on Tuesday amended the language in the moratorium, which initially was scheduled to end in six months, on March 1, 2026. It now will continue to April 20, 2026, or the effective date a stabilization ordinance is adopted by the city, whichever comes first. Officials said the city doesn’t know exactly when the state will develop the model ordinance and Waterville officials may need more time to develop its own ordinance.

The two parks in the city, Countryside Mobile Home Park off West River Road and Pooler’s Parkway off Grove Street, are owned by C37 LLC, a private equity firm. They include about 300 mobile homes, most of which are in Countryside. Most residents own their homes but must pay rental lot fees and other services including for sewer, water, trash disposal, electricity and pets. Many say they also are paying mortgages and property taxes. The park provides grass cutting and snow plowing, although not in driveways.

Joe Lemieux, a retiree who lives in the Punky Meadows section of Countryside, said to move his double-wide home would cost about $80,000, including the move itself, purchase of land and connecting to utilities and so forth.

“I can’t open up my wallet and put out $80,000 to move my home,” he said.

He urged the council to approve the fee increase freeze to help protect the more than 1,000 residents in the parks from having to give up their homes.

Mayor Mike Morris told park residents that officials were ready to support them by pausing a rent fee increase and developing language for a city rent stabilization ordinance.

Some park residents expressed fear that they would receive eviction notices if they didn’t pay the increase. City Solicitor William A. Lee III, who drafted the moratorium language, said if the council votes to approve the freeze, it will be law in the city, which could take the park owners to court if they try to impose a rent increase.

Mark Hsu, a principal of C37 LLC, did not respond to an email message Wednesday seeking comment, nor did he reply to previous messages. Acting City Manager Cornell Knight said C37 is aware the council had taken a first vote and would be notified of the latest council vote, with the amendments.

State Rep. Cassie Julia, a Democrat representing House District 65, which includes both mobile home parks, has been working with residents, Council Chair Rebecca Green, D-Ward 4, Morris, Knight and others on the proposed moratorium to help protect park residents.

Julia sponsored LD 1765, a bill the state Legislature passed in June calling for the state to draft language for a model rent stabilization ordinance that municipalities can use as a guide to produce their own ordinances. The state must develop the language by Dec. 30.

Asked what park residents should do if the owners start adding other fees in lieu of enforcing the fee increase, officials said they may notify city officials.

“Call me if that starts happening,” Julia said.