Across the country, particularly in Portland and Oregon, elected officials have tried to ward off evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemicsometimes by banning them outright.
But in one low-income community in East Portland, the holes in several layers in the social safety net became evident when a letter arrived in mailboxes.
Last October, residents of 11 homes in a mobile home park along Southeast Powell Boulevard received notice they'd have to move out. The owner of Kelly Butte Place, on Southeast 112th Avenue, wanted to redevelop the property.
For Beverly Smith, 74, the bad news seemed to defy logic. First, the notice arrived in the middle of a pandemic and amid a thicket of new rules designed to prevent people from being displaced.
Second, Smith and her husband, Philip, own their home.
"We're looking for somebody to assist us. We need help, that's what it boils down to," Beverly Smith says. "They've got all these plans about how they're shuffling us around like domino chips."
Manufactured home parks offer a form of homeownership often within reach of low-income buyersbut it means owning only the structure, not the land under it. So it's housing that comes with the added insecurity of losing an investment if the homes, sometimes old, can't be moved or the cost of moving, sometimes upward of $40,000, proves prohibitive.
The state has long recognized the need to protect mobile home park residents, requiring long notice periods before closure. In August 2018, Portland took the added step of zoning existing locations specifically as mobile home parks, so that they could not be closed and rezoned without significant review.
The difference for Kelly Butte Place was that the owner, Adam Hoesly, had applied to redevelop the property less than two months before the city changed the zoning.
Hoesly sought to build 26 "affordable" single-family homes. To do this, he'd likely have to demolish any homes that the owners left behind.
He tells WW he plans to move forward. "As it currently stands, tenants have been given more than a years notice as well as relocation fees to aid in their transition," Hoesly says. "The plan is to replace the 11 mobile homes with 26 affordable homes, as defined by the City of Portland."
If the Kelly Butte development were to proceed, it would do exactly what the Portland City Council is actively working to avoid, says Cameron Herrington, a program manager with the nonprofit Living Cully, which helped advocate for the mobile home park ordinance. "It's blatantly against the spirit of what the City Council was trying to do."
Tenants rights advocate Margot Black has been organizing the residents of Kelly Butte Place throughout the winter.
"The city knew in 2018 that these tenants were going to be displaced and did nothing," Black says. "They had no plan."
It was only after inquiries by WW that the city canceled the permits to redevelop Kelly Butte Place.
On Jan. 19, Matt Tschabold, policy and planning manager with the Portland Housing Bureau, told two residents who addressed the bureau's Rental Services Commission that since permit applications were submitted before the ordinance went into effect, it could still be approved.
"A property owner is subject to the land use and zoning code that is in effect when they submit an application, and unfortunately the city does not have the discretion to change that state law," Tschabold said at the January commission meeting. "Their application is subject to the laws that were in effect when they submitted that application."
WW contacted City Commissioner Dan Ryan's office on Feb. 8 and the Portland Bureau of Development Services on Feb. 10, inquiring whether the city would in fact approve the application. (Ryan oversees BDS as well as the Housing Bureau.)
On Feb. 14, David Kuhnhausen, BDS's permitting services manager, told WW the permits had been canceled, saying the property owner had failed to request the necessary permit extensions to keep the application valid.
"The permits were canceled on Feb. 8, 2021," Kuhnhausen wrote to WW. "Any future development permits at this site will be reviewed to comply with current zoning regulations."
The permits expired more than seven months ago, on June 30. It's not clear why the permits weren't canceled then.
Hoesly says he received no notice the permits had expired. "The city at times has an antiquated system for alerting the status of permits and I was not notified that the permit had expired in June until late last week," he says.
The permit cancellation is good news for Lucenda and Joe Brisack, who bought the home they share with their 8-year-old daughter on Dec. 30, 2018. That was nearly six months after the application for redevelopment was submitted.
"It's the worst feeling in the world that someone looked into our face, knowing that we were giving every cent we had to buy this place to give our daughter a home and stability, and they never said anything," Lucenda Brisack says.
In this small cul-de-sac, with bright, pastel-colored homes and neatly decorated front porches, resides a tight-knit community that considers itself a family. When residents received letters telling them the mobile home park, developed in 1997, would close and they had to be off the property by Oct. 20, 2021, community members feared for their futures but decided to put up a fight by writing letters to public officials and testifying at the Rental Services Commission meeting.
Black, the tenants rights organizer, says the city's decision to cancel the permits is significant but the owner could still kick residents off the land even if he can't redevelop the property.
"The city knows when displacement occurs or is about to," Black adds. "It needs to start providing meaningful and proactive resources to prevent and mitigate it."
Most of the residents could not afford to relocate their homes. Sandra Lovingier bought hers in 2009 and wrote in a handwritten letter to WW that she's confident she'd end up homeless if she had to vacate the property since she can no longer work because she has multiple sclerosis.
"I put all my retirement money into buying my home," she wrote. "I've invested every dime to make this my forever home."
Families still paying off their homes will have to continue paying their mortgages regardless of whether they can afford to move them.
Collectively, the residents offered the landowner $1.1 million to buy the land themselves but never received a response, Beverly Smith says.
"It's really frustrating to be blatantly treated like you don't matter," Smith says. "The city is supposed to be empathetic to the homeless. They're everywhere in this city. If they're having difficulty, what's going to happen to us? We're seniors."
Correction: Thisstory initially used the nameKelly Butte Park to refer to the mobile home park. While the park is referred to by several names in documents, it is registered with the stateas Kelly Butte Place. WW regrets the error.
Continue reading here:
Residents of an East Portland Mobile Home Park Were Told to Get Lost, in the Middle of a Pandemic - Willamette Week
- 3 Manufactured Homes REITs With Yields Up to 5.6% and Track Records of Dividend Growth - Yahoo Finance - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- AG obtains victory for manufactured housing residents | State | coastalpoint.com - Coastal Point - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Manufactured homes for 55+ buyers in York County - Press Herald - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- Over $800k in Penalties for Lincoln Manufactured Home Community Owner - WBOC TV 16 - April 17th, 2024 [April 17th, 2024]
- City Council Offers Resolution in Support of Manufactured Housing Residents - City of North Liberty - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- With Gilbert Foundation funding, 9 manufactured homes coming to North Corktown - Urbanize LA - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Back to Business: Aiken Housing Center offers affordable housing options - The Post and Courier - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Affordable manufactured housing community coming to Crosby - Houston Agent Magazine - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- ECN Capital finds new backer for manufactured homes business - The Globe and Mail - February 7th, 2024 [February 7th, 2024]
- How Mobile Home Owners Organize for Land Ownership and Climate Resiliency - Non Profit News - Nonprofit Quarterly - February 7th, 2024 [February 7th, 2024]
- What are manufactured homes? | Homes and housing - Queensland - December 30th, 2022 [December 30th, 2022]
- Clayton CrossMod Home Displayed at Museum Highlights Manufactured Housing Innovations Over the Years - PR Newswire - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Legacy Housing Corporation Provides Update on Delayed SEC Filings and Guidance for the First Half of 2022 - GlobeNewswire - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Letters to the Index-Tribune editor, Aug. 19, 2022 - Sonoma Index-Tribune - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Prefab Accessory Dwelling Units are coming to the North Bay - Napa Valley Register - June 12th, 2022 [June 12th, 2022]
- New laws will invest $45M into housing - Addison County Independent - June 12th, 2022 [June 12th, 2022]
- Legacy Housing Corporation Announces Appointment of Duncan Bates as President and Chief Executive Officer - GlobeNewswire - June 12th, 2022 [June 12th, 2022]
- Gaylord: A community comes together - Second Wave Media - June 12th, 2022 [June 12th, 2022]
- At home, do you know where your safe spot is? | Severe Weather Awareness Week - WTOL - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- Rentals at a premium in Macomb County and metro area - The Macomb Daily - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- Officials in tornado-weary Jarrell relieved property damage was worst of Monday twister - Austin American-Statesman - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- What's Driving the Move to Off-Site Construction in Home Building? | Pro - Pro Builder - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- Property tax bills start landing in mailboxes this week - Canton Repository - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Where Are New Co-ops Emerging? The Changing Map of Co-op Development - Non Profit News - Nonprofit Quarterly - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- High-end mobile home parks may become part of the St. George landscape - KSL.com - November 4th, 2021 [November 4th, 2021]
- Paid Advertisement: Oaks of Kokomo brings home ownership options to community - Kokomo Perspective - November 4th, 2021 [November 4th, 2021]
- 2022 Biloxi Manufactured Housing Show: Registration and Housing Now Open - PRNewswire - November 4th, 2021 [November 4th, 2021]
- The Best Mobile Home Movers of 2021 - BobVila.com - November 4th, 2021 [November 4th, 2021]
- Farmworker housing initiative fell short of ambitious goal - Point Reyes Light - July 2nd, 2021 [July 2nd, 2021]
- At least 63 people have died in Oregon heatwave - PennLive - July 2nd, 2021 [July 2nd, 2021]
- Elon Musk lives in a prefab "house" next to the SpaceX base for which he pays $250 a month. - Amico Hoops - July 2nd, 2021 [July 2nd, 2021]
- CL broker points to his history in winning award - The Friday Flyer - July 2nd, 2021 [July 2nd, 2021]
- A year after Sitka made space for tiny homes, no one is building them - KCAW - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- Little homes in the valley | Local News | lagrandeobserver.com - La Grande Observer - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- Are tornadoes moving from the plains to the South and Louisiana? Not likely, experts say - The Advocate - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- Pandemic Vacation: What We Learned Driving 1,100 Miles in an RV - Bloomberg - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- Mother who survived Orange mass shooting but lost two children leaves hospital - Los Angeles Times - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- North Carolina: Severe weather threatens Piedmont Triad - WXII12 Winston-Salem - WXII12 Winston-Salem - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- Seattle 'Mobile Vaccination Teams' to target young adults at breweries, outdoor dining areas, parks, and beaches - CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- Should NH require towns to allow tiny houses? - Manchester Ink Link - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Bill would expand rights of mobile home park tenants after years of complaints - telegraphherald.com - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Manufactured Housing Market to Eyewitness Massive Growth by 2026 | Crest Homes, Kent Homes, Titan Express Keeper - Express Keeper - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Drive for low-cost housing finds bipartisan buy-in - Southernminn.com - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Symposium on expanding shared equity housing highlights innovations and best practices in community-owned land - GlobeNewswire - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- MV Interpretive Center expands its scope - Methow Valley News - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]
- Latest Study explores the Manufactured Homes, Modular Homes, and Mobile Homes Ma - GroundAlerts.com - February 17th, 2021 [February 17th, 2021]
- Why Mobile Home Park Investments Will Thrive in 2021 - Yahoo Finance - February 17th, 2021 [February 17th, 2021]
- Drive for low-cost housing finds bipartisan buy-in - Mankato Free Press - February 17th, 2021 [February 17th, 2021]
- Getting your home ready for the freezing weather - KAMR - MyHighPlains.com - February 17th, 2021 [February 17th, 2021]
- Manufactured housing units being built in Oregon as temporary housing for fire victims - Wildfire Today - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Outlook on the Manufactured Housing Global Market to 2027 - Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast - Yahoo Finance - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Global Manufactured Housing Market (2020 to 2027) - by Number of Section, Location and Application - GlobeNewswire - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Two Manufactured Homes and an RV Destroyed in Fire - Redheaded Blackbelt - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- FEMA Site Will House Survivors of Wildfires - The Skanner - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- 5 killed in 3 fires in 1 day in Wisconsin; 3 of them children - FOX 6 Milwaukee - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- A united community demands public water in area near former Grumman site but Navy shows no sign of budging - RiverheadLOCAL - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Announces the Acquisition of Aegis Surety and Sale of Its XPro Business, Both With K2 Insurance Services - Business... - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Widespread vaccinations for COVID-19 coronavirus in Cleveland a long way off because of short supplies - cleveland.com - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- US Bedding owner: New site in Fall River Sam's Club could create 100 new jobs - Fall River Herald News - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- India pushes COVID shots in two-pronged effort at home and abroad - Nikkei Asia - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Manufactured housing as a solution to affordable housing crisis - Seacoastonline.com - January 20th, 2021 [January 20th, 2021]
- Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: Mid-America Apartment Communities, American Homes 4 Rent and Preferred Apartment Communities and RealPage - Yahoo... - January 20th, 2021 [January 20th, 2021]
- Residential property assessments increase overall in Houston - Houston Today - January 20th, 2021 [January 20th, 2021]
- Notice of Public Hearing | Legal Announcements | newsadvance.com - Lynchburg News and Advance - January 20th, 2021 [January 20th, 2021]
- Plantation Oaks amendments to be heard next week - Ormond Beach Observer - January 20th, 2021 [January 20th, 2021]
- Could you live in this 330-square-foot pod apartment? - BetaBoston - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- What To Watch In Traverse City In 2021 - Traverse City Ticker - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- Severe weather possible New Year's Eve in Tuscaloosa area - Tuscaloosa Magazine - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- Host's Formula Can't Be Copied By Other Coronavirus Horror Movies In 2021 - Screen Rant - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- Funding boosts Highland housing - Finance and Commerce - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Dozens of permits completed in November | Your Valley - Your Valley - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- What is the Market's View on UMH Properties, Inc (UMH) Stock's Price and Volume Trends - InvestorsObserver - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- TDEC Welcomes Clayton Homes of Bean Station Into Green Star Partnership - tn.gov - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- Bill Gates-backed electric car battery startup is on the cusp of changing the industry - Report Door - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- The Fed just pretty much guaranteed that mortgage rates will stay low - Report Door - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- Esports Entertainment Pushes Further Into Sports Betting, iGaming With Acquisition - Report Door - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- Comprehensive Analysis on Manufactured Homes Market based on types and applicati - News.MarketSizeForecasters.com - December 4th, 2020 [December 4th, 2020]
- Select Board addressing problem of seasonal occupants staying year round - SouthCoastToday.com - December 4th, 2020 [December 4th, 2020]
- HHS Secretary Azar: Millions Of Covid-19 Vaccines Are Being Manufactured Each Week - Forbes - December 4th, 2020 [December 4th, 2020]
- Manufactured Housing Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2020-2027 - The Haitian-Caribbean News Network - December 4th, 2020 [December 4th, 2020]