Community Corner

Village Trailer Park Demolition Decision Delayed Until September

Park tenants may face eviction if the rent control board grants a developer's request for a removal permit.

Tenants of the Village Trailer Park may face eviction from the park's more than 100 mobile homes, depending on the outcome of a Rent Control Board meeting next month. 

On Sept. 13, the board must decide whether or not to approve a developer's request for a removal permit, which allows for the demolition of the park's rent-controlled land spaces where the privately-owned trailers currently sit. 

Debate about the removal permit was originally slated for Thursday night's board meeting, but discussion on the matter is now tabled until the next meeting.

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"An attorney representing multiple park residents notified us that she wasn't able to make it to the meeting Thursday night, so we decided to wait until she could attend, " said Rent Control Board Administrator Tracy Condon.

Village Trailer Park LLC, the developer requesting the removal permit, seeks to construct a major mixed-use commercial/retail/office space project on the property at 2930 Colorado Avenue.

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If the removal permit is granted, it's a major step towards demolition and the start of the construction on the commercial and residential space. 

The only other thing keeping the developer from moving forward is the status of the project's development agreement with the City Council.  will resume Aug. 28. 

Even if the project moves foward, Condon said that City permit law requires that the developer replace the demolished rent-controlled spaces with at least the same number of rent-controlled units that are currently available at the park. In addition, Condon said, 15 percent of those units must be affordable to low-income residents.

Still, current residents showed up by the dozens at  and many said they were upset with the developer's plans.

In the case that the board does not grant the developer a removal permit, City law prohibits closure of the park.

Although City law prohibits demolition without a removal permit, Condon said the developer's attorneys know of other ways to dodge those laws. Yet, the developer has been working with City and community since he first revealed his plans to renovate in 2006.

"He's a long-standing member of the community, so it's in his best interest to work things out," Condon said.

In the developer's application to the Rent Control Board, he said he anticipates construction on the project, if approved, will begin summer of 2013. Mobile home owners would have to relocate by January.

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