MARYSVILLE – About a dozen people who are being forced out of a mobile home park picketed City Hall Monday night, then went inside to ask officials to help save their homes.
But City Attorney Grant Weed said there’s little the city can do except encourage developers to build more low-income housing.
The protesters were among 230 families forced to leave Eagle Point Mobile Home Park at 14600 51st Ave. NE. after it was sold to Barclays North Inc., which plans to build condominiums or townhouses there.
The residents have formed a homeowners association to ensure all tenants are given fair and equitable treatment and to change state law so what happened to them doesn’t happen to others, resident Dwain Rawley said. “Some will lose their homes; many will be made homeless,” Rawley said. “We will not be brushed aside.”
State law gives the residents a year to move and provides some money to help them. But residents say that’s not enough.
“It’s going to cost us a lot more money to move my trailer than the state is offering,” resident Daniel Thompson said.
One mover said it will cost him $23,200, while the state is offering $7,000, Thompson said.
Many of the tenants are elderly, and the move will be a hardship, he said.
City officials have scheduled a meeting to talk with park residents about their concerns, but the city can’t change the plans for the property. “Sadly, there is not a lot the city can do,” Weed said.
The city can and does provide incentives for developers to build low-income housing but has no control over what they choose to build, Weed said.
The state enacted a law regarding mobile home parks in 1989, but parts of it have been repealed based on state Supreme Court rulings, he said.
“I think it’s common knowledge that the monies that are available (from the state) aren’t always enough,” he said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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