A day after being served papers in a federal lawsuit from mobile home park owners who say town regulations infringe on their property rights, Windsor town leaders sent a strong message to tenants and park owners alike: they’re not backing down.

In a unanimous vote, the Town Council extended an urgency ordinance that pauses any changes or closures to mobile home parks for 10 months and 15 days. The extra time will allow staff to update Windsor’s 30-year-old mobile home ordinance and “close any loopholes” that might exist, Town Planner Jennifer Sedna said.

The urgency ordinance stems from proposed changes at Evergreen Mobile Home Park, which is owned by Nick Ubaldi of Harmony Communities, a property management company with a portfolio of more than 30 parks in California and Oregon.

In June, Ubaldi notified residents of the park’s 23 homes that rent for the land beneath their units would increase by more than 125%. When that proposal went into arbitration, a process to determine if the rent increase was reasonable, Ubaldi sent notices saying he was considering closing the park altogether, setting off panic among residents.

In response, council members passed an urgency ordinance in early October establishing a 45-day moratorium on park closures or changes, while staff considered potential updates to town regulations. On Wednesday, staff said they needed more time to make those changes.

Before the meeting, more than two dozen Evergreen residents braved cold rain outside Town Hall, rallying for the extended moratorium.

“I have been pretty happy here until Harmony came along and turned our world upside down,” said Maria Hernandez, a 28-year Evergreen resident. Hernandez has lived at the park since she was 10, met her husband there and raised her three children within the community.

Hernandez, like many in Evergreen, is frustrated but determined as the rent hike looms.

“We won’t be starving our kids to be paying people that are hungry for money,” she said.

Evergreen is home to working families, single mothers, seniors on fixed incomes and individuals with disabilities. Residents describe it as “peaceful” and “stable.”

“The community is united. We are here to assert our rights as human beings,” said Orlando Lopez, who lives at Evergreen with his wife, Teresa. “We are only asking for what is fair for everyone.”

When the public hearing began, residents filled the Town Council chambers, holding a rainbow of signs in Spanish and English urging the council to prevent the park’s closure.

Council members Sam Salmon and J.B. Leep said they were both “sensitive” to residents’ concerns but wary of the town’s growing legal fight with the Evergreen property owners.

Members of the Ubaldi family filed the federal lawsuit Oct. 22, arguing that the town’s moratorium violates their constitutional rights as a property owner, including the right to “exit the business,” according to the complaint. The filing says Windsor “has run roughshod over Evergreen’s rights,” imposing regulations that deprive him, as the park’s owner, of a fair return on investment while making it “purportedly illegal for the park to go out of business.”

Other Windsor leaders struck a more defiant tone. District 1 Councilmember Mike Wall, who represents the Evergreen area, told residents he stands firmly with them.

“There’s a bunch of nuances and lawsuits and stuff but I’m gonna do everything I can possibly do to make sure you’re taken care of,” Wall said. “I’m with you.”