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Seniors
in West Linn Need Your Help
UPDATE (12/06) --
Unfortunately the seniors lost their battle to keep
their homes. After much back and forth between the
owner and the seniors, and much inaction on the part
of the city, a final settlement was reached. Each
renter in Willamette Cove will receive $8,500 to
help with relocation. Unfortunately, for most this
does not come close to the real cost of moving their
home (if it can even be moved). NLWL is disappointed
that more wasn't done to help the seniors. We feel
that an important part of our city has been lost.
UPDATE (3/14/06) --
After much back and forth between the city and the
landowner, it was decided that an appraisal of the
property should be performed before further action
is taken by either side. Once the appraisal is
finished, the two sides can hopefully reach some
agreement that will allow the seniors to remain in
their homes while allowing the property owner to
receive fair value for the property.
SENIOR UPDATE
(8/7/05) -- Before it adjourned, the Oregon
legislature passed a tax credit for owners of mobile
home parks who sell the park to its residents
instead of selling it to a developer. We think that
this is an excellent compromise as it allows the
owners of the parks to realize income on the
appreciated value of the land while still
potentially allowing the land to be purchased by the
people living on it. Now, we hope that the owners of
these parks will give those residents who want to
the chance to purchase them.
Here's the
background on this issue: As you may have seen in
the June 23rd Tidings, there are lots of seniors who
may no longer be able to call West Linn their home.
Their manufactured home park is up for sale.
Click here if you
would like to help these seniors battle the
developer.
UPDATE -- In early
July the developer withdrew its offer to buy the
property which the seniors call home. Hopefully, the
property owner will now bargain in good faith with
the seniors to reach a satisfactory result for all.
Following is the
June 23rd West Linn Tidings article
concerning how a group of seniors in West Linn may
be displaced in the name of development.
WL seniors fight to keep homes
Nicole DeCosta -
06/23/05
Sheltered from the
afternoon sun and seated in rows of folding chairs
normally used for games of Pinochle, residents at
West Linn’s Willamette Cove wait patiently Tuesday
to hear about the fate of their homes — a decision
they never thought would be made for them.
“(I’ve lived here)
five years next month and I have children that live
close by,” said resident Adelyn Brandow, 72. “(I
would be) heartbroken if I had to move … It’s a
wonderful place to live and the neighbors are
wonderful.”
And these neighbors
in manufactured homes aren’t budging despite threats
from a local development company eager to draw up
blueprints for a townhouse project on their land.
“It would be a loss
to this community and a loss to West Linn to lose
Willamette Cove,” said Phil Piental, a resident of
two years. “I know more people here in two years
than my previous home I lived in for 10 years. Here,
you just know your neighbors.”
Located in West
Linn’s downtown Willamette area, Willamette Cove
hosts 65 lots for 90 residents ranging in age from
50 to 88. The park provides affordable manufactured
housing for residents seeking a community
environment.
In a letter from
attorney William J. Stalnaker of Oregon City,
Sequoia Custom Homes in Clackamas has offered
property owner Jerry Jennings $9.8 million for the
Willamette Cove land. That offer puts pressure on
Jennings to sell the property, currently rented to
people who have placed manufactured homes on small
lots.
West Linn Planning
Director Bryan Brown says it seems like Jennings has
been convinced by some investors that if he doubles
the density in the 11-acre parcel with high-end
luxury townhomes he can make a lot of money. “We’re
entertaining an offer that we have not accepted,”
Jennings said. “The homeowners have first right of
refusal on purchasing the property themselves. I’ve
given them additional time, but I haven’t heard back
from them yet.”
Jennings, a partner
in Bon Stan Construction Company of Clackamas, says
he’d like to liquidate his assets in Willamette Cove
whenever it is feasible. “But I don’t want this to
turn into a bidding war,” he said.
Willamette Cove
residents have said they can raise $5.2 million to
keep their land. The project engineer for Sequoia
Custom Homes, Monty Hurley of AKS Engineering and
Forestry in Sherwood, would not comment on the
proposed project. Sequoia’s attorney, Michael
Robinson of Perkins Coie in Portland, who attended
the preapplication conference, refused to comment on
any of his client’s affairs and would not even
identify his client in this matter. But engineers
are now doing survey work at the site, which has
residents upset because they say that signals the
beginning of the end. Many of the elderly residents
are living in what may become their final home. “As
far as the senior people, it’s hard on their health.
They are 80-something years old and they have to
move and there is no place to move to,” said Jack
Woodward, a three-year resident. “That’s the
disturbing part — there’s just no place that we can
go. There are a lot of people here that are by
themselves, especially women, that don’t understand
what’s happening to them.”
Brown predicted
that the majority of Willamette Cove residents would
have to leave the city to find affordable housing.
“In the nature of this kind of project when you have
a place where elderly people are living,” Brown
said, “it hurts them more than it would the normal
population because of the fact that they’re elderly.
“At that stage of life … where else in West Linn can
they find a place to live for equal value? There
isn’t anywhere.”
Although thoughts
about purchasing the land have been simmering for
more than two years, most residents were informed of
the proposal two weeks ago, what resident Vern
Bettendorf describes as hearing about “the shocker.”
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. My day is
absolutely ruined,” said Pat Schwoch, executive
director of the Manufactured Homeowners of Oregon
(formerly Oregon State Tenants Association or OSTA).
Kathy Simpson, resident and secretary/treasurer of
the homeowners association, said that the residents
want to raise money to purchase the property so they
can start a co-op, and manage themselves as a group.
“We want to have control over our destiny,” she
said.
Willamette Cove
residents are hoping that immediate community
support will help aid their fight so they won’t have
to relocate from their homes.
“I came from
Vermont four years ago … and I thought I was set for
life but I guess I’m not,” said a female resident
who wished to remain anonymous. “There is nothing
that is permanent. We’ve got to have enough
(community members) to swing this.” Time is of the
essence, said Joe Hill, a resident of eight years
and chairman of the Committee of 7 — a branch of
OSTA. The meeting turned into a small pep rally as
members started dividing into committees and coming
up with ways to raise awareness about the land they
take so much pride in.
Residents of
Willamette Cove said they enjoy living among people
their own age, participating in group activities,
and being among individuals who take pride in their
homes and yards.
“Any community
would be proud to have Willamette Cove,” said
Anthonie Woller, attorney representing Willamette
Cove. “This park is in real danger of losing its
existence. We cannot wait another day.” A hat was
passed around in order to collect more funds to aid
residents in the fight against being bought out and
evicted from their properties. By a show of hands
veterans and wives of veterans were recognized. This
land that was a sandpit just a little over a decade
ago now has sentimental meaning to residents — whose
fate seems to be sinking like quicksand.
“The community is
behind us. We just need everybody else,” said Hill.
“The city of West Linn did not want us at first and
now they don’t want to let us go.” Taking the
residents’ side, Brown said the developer appears to
be interested in just the project’s bottom line.
“These peoples’ homes are threatened and at risk
now,” he said, “and we’ve been doing everything we
possibly can since the day we heard about this.”
The state of Oregon
(ORS 90.630) protects residents of mobile home
facilities, requiring landlords to give at least
one-year notice before forcing residents to leave in
order to convert the property for a different use.
The proposal would have to pass the scrutiny of city
planners, the planning commission and city council.
And Brown says it might be difficult to get past the
planning commission. “They’ll probably want to
protect these residents,” Brown said of the citizen
panel. “The issue will come up of their displacement
and how unfair it is. And (the planning commission)
will use whatever discretion it has for a planned
unit development, where lots of things are waived
depending on the quality of the plan.” Brown says
the planning process will take a number of months
due to the amount of opposition from local
residents. Resident Shirley Stanley spoke for many
who want to keep the Cove.
“It’s like an
extended family,” said Stanley, a resident since
September. “We have a wonderful life. There’s not
too many places like this. You know that you’ll
never be alone. Even the people living alone are
never alone.”
Staff reporter Jim
Hart and Tidings Editor Tracy Stepp contributed to
this story.
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