Debbie Hurdle may soon own property for the first time in her life.

Hurdle, 55, has lived in the Camarillo Mobile Home Park for the past nine years. On Aug. 26, the Camarillo City Council is expected to consider a proposal by the park’s owners to convert the property at 1150 E. Ventura Blvd. into a residentowned park.

Scott Hughes, his brother and sister own the 16.5-acre park with 135 mobile home spaces.

Hughes said several developers have asked to buy the property, but selling to them would have meant park residents, some in their 80s, would have to leave. The siblings want to sell the property but didn’t want to displace residents, some of whom have lived there since the park opened in 1972.

“That’s a big stress,” said Hughes, 41. “We just wanted to divide the property, not disrupt people’s lives.”

Hughes, who has lived next door to the park all his life, said park residents have a strong sense of community because many are senior citizens who’ve come to rely on one another over the years.

But many of the park’s residents were reluctant about the conversion when Hughes and his siblings proposed the idea two years ago, said Hurdle, a member of the park’s homeowners’ board.

“It’s like buying a car without knowing the price, and you don’t know the price because we’re not in negotiations yet,” Hurdle said.

To allay residents’ fears and answer their questions, Hughes and his lawyer met with residents several times. But it was after residents researched the matter and discovered the benefits of owning mobile home property that they warmed up to the idea, Hurdle said.

The benefits include having control over how the space is used and whether it’s sold, a higher resale value for the mobile home, better financing terms and equity.

To assure residents they won’t be forced to move or pay exorbitant rent increases should the park convert to resident-owned and they don’t buy their space, the Hughes family has offered longterm lease extensions, up to 34 years in some cases, to almost every resident.

Hughes said he and his siblings have no intention of selling a space to a third party should the mobile home owner choose not to buy it, although he acknowledged it could happen. If they do, he said, the new owner would be legally bound to honor the terms of the lease.

“They’re still protected,” Hughes said of park residents, “even if the Greedy Goblin ends up being the new owner.”

The question of how much each space will sell for will remain unanswered until the conversion proposal is approved by the state. Even so, Hurdle and others say the Hughes family have been considerate of residents by offering longterm leases.

“It’s all looking fair, and we’re glad about that because it’s brought down the fear level tremendously,” Hurdle said.

The Camarillo Mobile Home Park was a lemon orchard owned by Hughes’ grandfather. Hughes and his siblings have been the owners since 1996.