Thousands demand fairness for evicted mobile home communities
Thousands of Kelowna and West Kelowna residents have signed a petition demanding fair treatment for people who live in manufactured home communities.
On Jan. 7, West Kelowna and mobile home resident Alexa Carels started a petition in the wake of the recent eviction of 27 mobile homes at Shady Acre to make way for a large-scale industrial development.
In less than two weeks, Carels’ petition has amassed more than 2,800 signatures and the numbers continue to grow.
“In light of the recent threat of closure of the Shady Acres manufactured community… and the emerging trend of gentrification, the residents of Kelowna and West Kelowna demand changes to existing policy in order to protect those who live in manufactured home communities,” Carels wrote on the petition page.
Just a few months ago, Kerr Properties announced its plan to turn Shady Acres, a 6.5-acre manufactured housing park in West Kelowna, into a 150,000-square-foot light industrial business park.
Kerr Properties is paying homeowners $20,000 and giving them 60 days to accept the offer and just 120 days to move out after the sale.
READ MORE: More than 25 low income residents face loss of affordable West Kelowna homes
“The compensation and notice guidelines are woefully inadequate and do not reflect changes to access and affordability. It's time to revise and update. Some of the policies are close to 20 years old,” Marlene Rusk, Carels’ neighbour and a fellow manufactured community member, told iNFOnews.ca.
For Rusk, not enough protections are in place for residents of manufactured communities.
Rusk’s own mobile home park has 80 units, most of which are filled by low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. These residents have been left feeling even more vulnerable in the wake of the Shady Acres eviction, she said.
“These are safe, affordable shelters for many people,” she said. “I wish there had been some advocacy for these residents before eviction notices were handed out. Their stories highlight poor support and inadequate compensation. The situation is much more dire when we're amid a national, provincial and local affordable housing crisis.”
The City of West Kelowna declined an interview with iNFOnews.ca. However, in an email response, it said Carels may wish to put forward her petition at Kerr Properties’ application public hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday Jan. 23.
"The development application process is designed to take many factors into consideration, including community feedback during the public hearing stage,” it said.
The City of Kelowna was more forthcoming in its policies around manufactured communities.
According to the City’s Policy and Planning Department, there are new rules in place for mobile home park redevelopment in the city of Kelowna.
One such policy states that the municipal government should “prioritize retention of mobile home parks as an important source of affordable housing in our community."
And that it should "only consider redevelopment of mobile home parks if… replacement of affordable units is included in the redevelopment.”
By pushing low-income mobile home residents out into an increasingly unaffordable housing market, the municipal and provincial government is creating a humanitarian issue, Carels says.
READ MORE: Kelowna mobile home park residents want their rights considered by developer
“It is incomprehensible that homeowners would lose their lifetime of equity and be forced to enter an unattainable housing market while developers profit immensely,” she wrote. “Surely we would not expect this of those who live in single-family homes, so why do we expect it of those in manufactured homes? We must do better.”
You can find Alexa Carel's petition by clicking on the link here.
More information about the Shady Acres public hearing can be found here.
— This story was corrected at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, with updated information about the public hearing.
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