Residents can’t stay, can’t afford to move

The plight of tenants at a Bayview, Idaho, mobile home park underscores the challenges that arise when smaller, older parks close for redevelopment.

A year ago, the owner of View of the Bay Mobile Home Park sent out notices, alerting residents that the 36-lot park would close on Sept. 30. Though most the park’s residents have moved on, a handful of families remain, saying they can’t afford to move.

“I’m in a pretty miserable situation,” said R.J. “Jessie” White, who owns a 1960s-era trailer in the park.

White, who is 57 and disabled, said she’s tallied the cost of updating the trailer to meet health and safety standards so it can be legally moved, hiring a mover, and getting the necessary permits and hookups. The total comes to $10,000 – far beyond her means, she said.

Rapid development is taking a toll on the Idaho Panhandle’s smaller, older mobile home parks, which are being converted to more lucrative uses as commercial properties or higher-end housing. About a dozen parks have closed in Kootenai County over the past five years, according to the county assessor’s office.

View of the Bay is a prime example of the type of park affected. It overlooks Lake Pend Oreille in a resort community with fast-rising land values. Park tenants paid a modest $250 to $300 per month for their spaces.

The park’s former owner, Bob Holland, of Hayden, planned to build condominiums on the property and gave the tenants their original eviction notice. He sold the park in August to KDB Investments, of Liberty Lake, whose attorney alerted tenants that they would stick to Holland’s Sept. 30 deadline.

“They’re sitting on some prime property,” said James B. Crowe, a Coeur d’Alene attorney who is doing pro bono legal work for some of the park’s tenants. “It overlooks the lake, and it has fabulous views. If you get these people out and built some condos … there’s the opportunity to make some good-sized profits.”

While KDB Investments has a right to develop the land, Crowe said he’s hoping that he can negotiate a settlement with the firm that gives the remaining tenants enough money to move and start over. Some of the trailers are so old that they’d have to be razed instead of moved, he said. Crowe said he spoke to KDB’s attorney about 10 days ago, but declined to characterize the discussion.

Eric Sachtjen, KDB’s attorney, also declined to comment on specifics. “We’re still working with the tenants that remain on the property to assess their needs and go forward,” he said.

White tried to sell her 1967 trailer for $15,000 earlier in the year, but three prospective buyers lost interest when they learned that the park was on the market, she said. In the past few weeks, White found another park willing to take her trailer, but said she couldn’t afford to update and move it.

She’s also looked into subsidized housing from the state, but isn’t sure that she could meet the income guidelines for an apartment. Many of the places had waiting lists, White said, and they wouldn’t allow her to bring her 15-year-old cat.

Part of the limbo she’s in involves going without heat, White said. She doesn’t want to pay to fill a 100-gallon heating oil tank, knowing that she needs to move, she said.