ARUNDEL –– Town officials in Arundel are joining communities across the state in wrestling with soaring mobile home rent rates in local parks.

On Monday, as residents rallied at town hall to ask for help, the select board said it is working toward a final version of an ordinance for what it calls “rent stabilization.” 

Town Manager Keith Trefethen said the town has been working on the proposed ordinance since January and expects to put it before voters at the annual town meeting on June 10.

Jennifer Moreau said she has been living in Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park for the past 10 years. On Jan. 1, she said, her rent went up $40, then again by $130 more, and her neighbors have reported similar spikes in rents. 

“That’s catastrophic for some of the residents here,” she said.

Skyrocketing rents have driven residents to ask for similar relief in Waterville, Brunswick, Sanford, Auburn, Lewiston and other Maine communities. 

Moreau said she and her neighbors don’t want to move into subsidized housing but noted some of her neighbors are already being forced out by higher rents.

“This is the last affordable housing for a large majority of Mainers, and it’s disappearing, so where are they supposed to go?” she said. 

In many municipalities, officials have struggled with the idea of setting up rent control, and Arundel is facing similar issues. The proposed ordinance does not set a cap on rents but does limit to once per year the number of times a landlord can raise rents. 

“That’ll help some people stay in their homes,” Moreau said. “It will help others who are already priced out to start looking for a better option.”

The board is expected to discuss the matter again on April 6.