LYNNWOOD — Residents of two mobile home parks are breathing more easily with news that their homes are safe and they won’t have to move out, thanks to an agreement between a Lynnwood business man and county government.
The Snohomish County Council March 26 approved up to $2.5 million in low-income housing funds, part of a $9 million total allowing the Housing Authority of Snohomish County to buy The Squire and Kingsbury East mobile home parks from developer Mike Echelbarger.
“I think it’s probably ground-breaking,” said Echelbarger, who agreed last year to sell The Squire and Kingsbury East mobile home parks to the housing authority.
Still, other mobile home parks face closure and residents worry they won’t be able to find another place to live.
A year ago, residents of The Squire and Kingsbury East, most of whom are elderly and low-income, feared that Echelbarger’s plans to close the parks and build a housing project would leave them homeless.
But residents organized themselves, forming a homeowners’ association. With help from local and state politicians — and Echelbarger’s willingness to wait — a deal was struck.
A portion of the purchase price came from $3.5 million in federal funds provided by the state of Washington and $2.5 milion in low income housing dollars from the county.
The housing authority, which will issue tax-exempt bonds to pay the remaining $3 million, will lease the 94 homes to 117 residents between the two parks.
“It’s the first step in a long fight statewide,” said Kylin Parks, a resident of the Squire mobile home park and president of Save Our Seniors, the homeowners association she helped start.
“We did prove to the state that it was a lot more affordable to preserve the housing than it was to ruin a community that could never be replaced anyway,” she said.
But the state fund that provides relocation assistance for mobile home residents ran out of money two years ago. With few available spaces to move to, mobile home residents face a housing dilemma.
“This is a wonderful example of how the county can work in partnership with citizens and other agencies to save valuable low-income housing for our residents,” Snohmish County Council Chairman Dave Gossett said in a prepared statement. “It was a very unique situation with a willing seller and some available housing funds, but it came together in a way that worked for everyone.”
Parks called the agreement “a huge precedent” that might lead to other such deals.
“But the fact is it costs a lot of money and you’ve got to find it from a lot of pots,” she said.
Echelbarger, who owns the commercial and residential development company Echelbarger Properties, said he was originally leery of buying the mobile home parks.
“I was approached by one of the owners and he said ‘I think you’re the only one that can get this done,’” Echelbarger said. “My comment was ‘yeah, but there’s going to be pain.’”
He praised the housing authority for stepping up to save the mobile home parks from certain closure.
“I’ve dealt with virtually every aspect of Snohomish County over the years,” he said. “These people are sharp. They run that housing authority like a business.”
While there’s jubilation among residents of Kingsbury East and The Squire, just a few blocks down Highway 99, Karen Mason worries about her immediate future.
Mason, a paraplegic, lives in Evergreen Estates Mobile Home Park, 18626 Highway 99, whose residents learned last year their park had been purchased by Lithia Motors, Inc. Residents have until April 30 to leave the park but many of them can’t afford to leave.
Mason and other park residents urged the Lynnwood City Council March 26 to give them more time to find a suitable place to go. Mason is on a waiting list for space at either Kingsbury East or The Squire. She said she’d like to move her manufactured home, which cost her $78,000.
“We have exhausted any opportunity in Snohomish County” to find other spots, she said.
April 2, the city council passed a resolution that urges Lithia, which operates the park under Lynnwood Properties, LLC, to give residents another six months to find a place to live.
Councilwoman Lisa Utter, who drafted the resolution, said the state Legislature is likely to provide new relocation fund dollars by mid-May that could help people like Mason pay to move.
Meanwhile, Parks said she’s been energized organizing her neighbors and wants to help other mobile parks get organized before owners decide to sell.
“It’s been amazing,” she said of the process. “I personally didn’t have a lot of faith in the power of people before this. But it really changed my mind. You really can make a difference.”
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