Mobile home park sues new owner

Three-week water supply interruptions and 70% rent increase

[  By Katherine Nettles  ]

After just a few months under new ownership, residents of a mobile home park near Gunnison have filed suit against their new owner and seek reparations for numerous complaints that include excessive rent increases, failure to provide adequate running water, failure to maintain the property, threatened enforcement of arbitrary rules and “retaliatory action” for making complaints. 

On June 30 the Organizacion de Nuevas Esperanzas (ONE), a Colorado nonprofit corporation representing residents of the Ski Town Village—formerly Country Meadows Mobile Home Park—filed charges against Ski Town Village in Gunnison District Court. Among the issues ONE has listed with Ski Town Village are increasing rent, eviction warnings and unresponsiveness to issues like drinking water interruptions. The new owner has stated in writing that many improvements were planned but there was a challenge getting contractors to bid or work on them. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 7 in district court. 

The mobile home park with approximately 55 mobile homes and a population of up to 400 people was sold in April, and the new owner immediately changed the name to Ski Town Village and informed residents that rent would go from $425 to $725 per month starting July 1. Although the new owner expressed goals in writing of “making some improvements around the property” such as addressing tree hazards, roadway damage, water wells and unfinished electrical service projects, residents reported those improvements were not done. 

Residents have been asking for improved infrastructure and property maintenance for years and the former owner had been found in repeated noncompliance with the Department of Local Affairs but had not made any improvements. When informed of the pending sale, residents formed the ONE corporation and organized to make an offer on the property themselves, but their offer was never acknowledged. 

Once the property changed hands this spring, residents received letters notifying them of rent increases and the name change, and notifying them of new rules, late fees and evictions if rent was not paid. A chaotic period has passed since as residents have received conflicting information and responses from management and the water supply went through a series of interruptions.

Ski Town Village chief executive officer John Romero was listed as the sole contact for the mobile home park, but according to residents he has not been around or responsive to problems. Romero was contacted for this story but did not respond as of press time.

The Colorado Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response received a report of water supply interruptions on June 30, citing that “the [mobile home park] has been mostly without drinking water for the past three weeks.” 

The state office referred the situation to Gunnison County and the State Mobile Home Park Oversight Program (MHPOP) to address the issue and possibly investigate. 

Gunnison County assistant county manager for community and economic development Cathie Pagano confirmed that Gunnison County supplied a 550-gallon tank of drinking water to residents at Ski Town Village as an emergency remedy to the situation on June 24. “We were able to refill it if needed,” said Pagano. 

Gunnison based attorney William Edwards who has been representing ONE pro bono since 2021, said residents have been told repeatedly that water issues were resolved only to have them return.

Williams spoke with the Crested Butte News this week after filing the complaint on behalf of ONE. 

“The association and the residents did this as a last resort after attempting to work with Ski Town Village …they reach out to Ski Town Village about their issues repeatedly and there is very little response,” said Williams. 

The motion requests an order “barring Ski Town Village from enacting the noticed rent increase, late fees, arbitrary rules and regulations, or taking any other retaliatory action against ONE or homeowners.” Williams cited several ways that residents would otherwise face irreparable harm due to inability to afford the rent increase and subsequent eviction and loss of their lots and mobile homes that in most cases cannot be moved. 

“Given the lack of affordable housing in Gunnison County, loss of their mobile homes and spaces would also mean the homeowners would leave the area and lose their community as well. As many courts have recognized, being deprived of housing is an irreparable harm,” according to the motion.

Williams also argues that the noticed rent increase of 70% is excessive in violation of the anti-retaliation provision and should also be presumed to be retaliatory as the homeowners made numerous complaints to management and worked closely with local government and other parties to secure their rights during the prescribed period beforehand. He notes that the prior landlord was found to have violated the Mobile Home Protection Act and that Ski Town Village bought Country Meadows after the notice of violation was issued. 

“Ski Town had 10 months of being under contract to do due diligence on this property and figure out what to do to comply with the law. And they don’t seem to have any plan…there are plenty of great businesses here in Gunnison that abide by the law. It seems Ski Town Village is gaining a competitive advantage by not complying with the law and getting away with it,” said Williams.

“The taxpayers of Gunnison County should not be forced to subsidize the illegal acts or negligence of any landlord, let alone an out-of-town landlord who refuses to avail itself of local property management services (which abound in the Valley) to provide basic, legally-mandated necessities to its tenants,” according to the motion.  

“Ski Town Village’s actions in regard to Country Meadows are frankly, parasitic, as they (1) put the burden of responding to foreseeable emergencies at Country Meadows on local governments and taxpayers; (2) refuse to employ an adequate number of local workers, or a property management firm, to maintain the property; and (3) increase the rent to a level that will exacerbate the well-documented affordable housing crisis and worker shortage in the Valley in addition to ripping apart the community that exists at Country Meadows.”

In addition, ONE is seeking compensation for documented cases in which residents had to find motel accommodations at market rates in order to secure water during the past two months. 

Williams said ultimately, the request is “to comply with the law.”

“This hurts the whole community. And they are not operating under a normal business model. They are acting as if they are special and different rules apply to them.” 

The first hearing on the case is scheduled for July 13 at 9 a.m. in Gunnison District Court.