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Thursday,
March 23, 2000
I appreciate
the opportunity to speak with you tonight. I am here because Bonnie
Crawley could not get off of work tonight and because the residents
of the Greenview Trailer Park needed someone to speak on their behalf.
You
are being asked tonight by the owners/developers of the Greenview
Trailer Park to rezone the site to B-3. At last month’s meeting,
the Council voted to table the owners’ request for rezoning
at the owners’ request. This was because the owners, sensing
that they probably didn’t have the 3 votes necessary to accomplish
the B-3 rezoning, wanted to talk one-on-one with some council members
to discuss resident relocation and other options. As we understand
it, these meetings did take place, but without any representation
from the residents of the trailer park until the last meeting, when
Bonnie Crawley called and asked to be included. At that last meeting,
she was told that the area would be rezoned; that the residents
had until June 1 to relocate; that the Town had decided to hold
an “opportunity fair” in mid-April for the residents;
and that neither the town nor the owners of the property offered
any relocation strategies whatsoever. At the “opportunity fair,”
the residents are to have the “opportunity” to talk with
social services and other organizations and the “opportunity”
to fill out a needs form. Bonnie was also told that the owners of
the park had agreed to waive $200 in rent.
Is
this the relocation plan for the people who have lived in this park
for many years: $200, a June 1 deadline for leaving the premises,
and the “opportunity” to fill out a needs form? Is this
the extent of the commitment and responsibility of this Council
and the owners/developers to these Boone citizens?
For
many years, owners of this park have been more than satisfied to
accept the residents’ rent money coming in each month. But
now there is a better business opportunity, an incredible business
opportunity, so they have generously agreed to waive 2 months’
rent. There is a lot of money to be made by owners/developers of
this project should the area be rezoned. Surely the Council can
insist that a little of this money be dedicated to a sensible relocation
plan for the residents.
Such a relocation plan is not rocket science; it is totally within
the Council’s authority to require, and it is not unprecedented.
In fact, in looking under a general search engine on the Internet,
under “trailer park relocation,” there are no fewer than
1,182 sites that refer to such plans.
In
a small California town, developers wanted to replace a 44-space
trailer park with an apartment complex. The City Council tabled
the request until they could research and plan for affordable housing
in the town. In addition, developers agreed to contribute $2,000
per trailer resident as part of the agreement with the Council.
Council members stated that their responsibilities to residents
included a commitment to a relocation plan PRIOR to rezoning.
In
New Mexico, a 50-year-old low-income housing park was to be demolished
to make way for 20 single-family homes. Most of the 50 residents
were elderly or disabled and lived on fixed incomes. These residents
were given 6 months to vacate, and the Council required the developers
to provide relocation assistance. When the developers initially
agreed to giving residents 2 months of free rent as compensation,
the Council found the offer to be “inadequate.” The Council
required the developer to hire a relocation consultant to advise
residents and to report back to the council within four months with
a relocation plan.
In
another small town, WalMart wanted to purchase property where 130
trailers sat. Most of these trailers were too old to move, and there
were no places within the town to move them. The owner of the property
committed to help finance costs of moving owners if property was
rezoned for WalMart. The council agreed to the rezoning request
only with the stipulation that the owner guarantee, as a condition
of the rezoning, that he would pay up to $5,000 per home. Because
there was significant money to be made on his venture, the owner
readily agreed to the condition.
Have similar relocation options been explored for the residents
in Greenview Trailer Park? Has a relocation plan been submitted
by the owners/developers of the property? Have areas been found
where these residents can be moved? Has anyone determined the costs
of such relocation? Are the owners/developers willing to present
a written and signed relocation plan to the council prior to getting
the rezoning request? There is also rumor that some local churches
might step in to raise money to help with relocation and that the
owners might match the money raised by churches. Has anyone contacted
the local churches to determine how much money they can commit?
Can they commit enough money needed to help residents? Have the
owners signed an agreement to match church funds? And why is the
Council scheduled to act on this rezoning request tonight PRIOR
to holding the “opportunity fair” to determine residents’
needs and options? What is the incentive for the owners to do right
by these residents if they have already gotten exactly what they
want from Council?
We
all know that most of the people living in this trailer park are
working minimum wage jobs, and many are just one rent away from
being unable to pay the bills. Relocation, at best and assuming
the trailers can be moved, will involve money for rent deposits,
1st months’ rents, deposits for electricity, deposits to phone
companies, etc. To these residents, a mobile home is the only affordable
local option for housing, and, as they have told you, they have
nowhere to go. The ultimate risk of voting to rezone this property
is homelessness for Boone citizens, citizens you were elected to
represent.
These
are all questions that we would like to ask Council tonight. If
there are no answers or unsatisfactory answers to these questions,
we are asking that you either deny the rezoning request or table
the request until a written, signed, and satisfactory relocation
plan has been submitted to Council. It is unfair to the residents
to simply accept a verbal “we’ll see what we can do”
promise from the owners. Such promises are easy to break.
According
to The Institute of Government and the North Carolina General Statutes,
this Council is under no obligation whatsoever to rezone this area,
and you can withhold rezoning approval as its sound judgment dictates.
Please use your sound judgment tonight. And don’t expect someone
else to do the job you need to do yourself.
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