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Lawmakers want to save trailers
BY JULIEN GORBACH
Upper Keys Staff Writer
ISLAMORADA —
Faced with a loss of workforce housing through trailer park closures,
commissioners and council members in Monroe County have said they would
support a resolution calling on the state to change its laws on mobile
home parks.
Early last
September, state Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, and state Rep. Ken
Sorensen, R-Key Largo, said they were concerned that park redevelopments
were displacing mobile home residents in the Keys.
But before
they could lobby the Legislature to do something about it, they would
first need to see action at the local level.
Now elected
officials for Key West, Marathon, Islamorada and Monroe County say they
would support a resolution calling for reform. But it's not clear they
can agree on what kind of reform is needed.
Critics blame
revisions made in 2001 to Chapter 723 — the section of state law that
deals with the parks — for the wave of redevelopment in the Keys over
the past few years. While park tenants have routinely appealed to their
local governments for protection against eviction, the state law is at
the root of the issue.
"As the mayor
of Monroe County, I would support anything that can be done to rectify
what the change of the statutes has created down here," said Mayor
Murray Nelson. "Literally, when you look at this, the problem was
created by the House and the Senate."
The changes
weakened provisions for compensating evicted residents just as the value
of the land continued to soar, according to Key West attorney Robert
Cintron, who represents tenant groups. As a result, redevelopment became
a better investment.
In the past
three years, property owners have evicted scores of tenants to build
gated communities or luxury condominiums in the place of the Coral Isle
Mobile Park of Stock Island, Gulfstream Trailer Park of Marathon, and
other parks.
Since March,
residents of more than 30 lots in the Pelican Palms Mobile Home Park in
Islamorada and another 30 in Mandalay Mobile Home Park in Key Largo have
received eviction notices.
Tenants say
the redevelopment is destroying what little affordable housing the Keys
has left. They contend that in this issue, as with others, the Keys is
unique to the rest of Florida.
It's not
possible for park residents to relocate to somewhere within 50 miles, as
they can on the mainland. Instead, evictions drive them out of the Keys
altogether.
Park owners
say the Constitution protects their rights to property. They also assert
that it is unfair to saddle one small class of property owners with
providing affordable housing. It's a burden that should be shared by the
government and community at large.
Cintron
suggested a resolution to change Chapter 723 should recite the core
factors at play: that affordable housing is critically short in the
Keys, that mobile homes and RVs are the primary source of affordable
housing, and that the structure of the law makes it easy to redevelop
parks for other uses that don't include affordable housing.
The resolution
would then say the Legislature should consider appropriate revisions to
Chapter 723 to ease the pressure the parks face for redevelopment.
Islamorada
Councilman Mike Forster, who has been seeking a way to save local
residents from eviction, said he would support a resolution that could
provide better protection. At Thursday's village meeting, the council
will consider imposing a moratorium on trailer park redevelopment.
Key West Mayor
Jimmy Weekley expressed support for a resolution as well.
"I would
support a change to state law that would strengthen and keep safe the
trailer parks," he said. "And if they were going to be redeveloped, they
would be developed to guarantee the affordability self-described by the
local communities.
"What we
describe is different than what Islamorada would describe. You have
different needs. And that's why I say it should be up to the local
communities."
Marathon
Councilman Bob Miller said that he might endorse a resolution, but he
would not want anything that could handcuff local governments in their
efforts to provide affordable housing or upgrade existing substandard
housing.
"I think
anything the Legislature can do to protect the affordable housing stock,
I would be in support of that," he said. "I just always fear that if you
unnecessarily restrict it, then you end up with slum conditions."
Even if local
representatives can agree on a prescription for reform and pass
resolutions, changes to Chapter 723 remain a longshot. The next
legislative session is a full year away. And Cintron is skeptical that
Tallahassee lawmakers would offer park tenants much help.
"I just don't
think the political climate in the Florida Legislature is such that they
would make any dramatic changes to the existing law," he said. "Whether
they would make changes that would recognize the Keys as unique is a
different question."
A more
immediate fix, Cintron suggested, would be for local governments to work
with the state Department of Community Affairs to stop redevelopers from
obtaining rights to build through the rate of growth ordinance system,
or in Islamorada, through the building permit allocation system.
That course of
action might have put a stop to the plans of Pelican Palms redeveloper
Bill Fountain. He intends to replace the trailers and RVs in his park
with 33 "affordable" homes that would sell for $200,000 each, and two
estate homes worth millions.
But Fountain
said he will be meeting with each of his park tenants individually to
see if arrangements can be made for them to remain in Islamorada. He has
purchased the Wet Net property, and hopes to offer the residents their
own efficiencies that they can pay to own with monthly fees comparable
to what they pay now, he said.
All tenants
will receive equal treatment, but those who live in the park year-round
will have priority.
"I don't think
the answer is to say let's find a way to stop this," he said. "The
answer is to find a way to make sure that people in the Keys are able to
find homes they can live in."
jgorbach@keysnews.com
Keyswide effort needed to save trailer parks
"Nobody can move here now,
do what you do and live in your home."
— Mayor Murray Nelson
That remark nails down a
fundamental truth about property values and the cost of living in the
Florida Keys:
Most of us who reside in the
Keys could not move here today and afford to buy at market rate the home
we live in.
While many of us may rejoice
that the three-bedroom, two-bath home we bought five years ago for
$150,000 can now command $400,000, pause for a moment to consider what
that indicates about those who can afford to buy here. Who is moving
here now?
At the same time, take a
moment to think about those who are being run out of the Keys by soaring
property values and trailer park redevelopment. Who are we losing?
Each day, of course, we are
losing our workers, and they are not being replaced.
While we are beginning to
feel the impact, we have yet to experience a full-scale service crisis,
which perhaps is why government-provided affordable housing still gets
plenty of "talk," but very little "walk." The writing, however, is plain
to see on the walls of every gated community.
Let's face it. The local
economy in this subtropical island chain is unlikely to morph into
something other than tourism. As long as we remain a tourist
destination, we will need service industry workers.
Trailer park redevelopers
don't fret that they are displacing the work force of the Keys. They
have said, time and again, that it's not their responsibility to provide
work force housing. So it is up to us, in concert with our elected
officials, to take a stand.
But first, we may have to
overcome a few lingering objections that surface every time work force
housing is discussed. The most common objections are based on fantasy
and prejudice.
Fantasy: Government has no
right to interfere in a free-market economy, or with the rights of
private property owners.
What kind of blinders must
one wear to make such a comment? The fact is, American government from
Day 1 has had a pervasive role in shaping our economy and regulating
land ownership. Ever hear of subsidies, price controls, the Federal
Reserve, bond issues, government contracts? Familiar with zoning,
building permits, eminent domain?
Prejudice: Government
efforts to provide affordable housing result in public housing projects
(read: slums or ghettos).
Perhaps where you came from,
but welcome to paradise. The affordable housing dilemma here is a
problem primarily of the middle class.
Look at the people being
displaced by recent trailer park closures. Some are retirees, but most
work in the service industry as boat mates, servers, cooks and cashiers.
Others are small business owners, fishermen, mechanics, landscapers,
construction workers and other laborers who make living here convenient
and worthwhile for us all.
If we can set aside rhetoric
and prejudice, we might be able to stop the hemorrhaging.
Based on the recent comments
of elected officials throughout the county, we believe there is the will
to reform state law to end the closure and redevelopment of Keys trailer
parks.
That is a good start.
Also, Islamorada adopted
Thursday a temporary moratorium on trailer park redevelopment. We urge
the other elected bodies to consider taking similar action. This will
allow communities to buy time so our state representatives can set in
motion a change to Florida Statute 723 to eliminate the incentives
redevelopers have to evict local trailer park residents.
To get the ball rolling, our
elected leaders need to send a strong message to our Tallahassee
representatives. We urge our cities and county to speak with a unified
voice to protect our work force.
It's not only the right
thing to do for our neighbors; it's for our long-term economic survival.
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