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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, November 13, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 7, 2004 Crest Imperial Mobile Estates residents, from left, Ted Abrams, Carie Sterling and Roma Duran have one year to move their manufactured homes. The Rogue Valley Manor is clearing the property for future development. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Planned upheaval Forced by Rogue Valley Manor’s expansion plans to move their manufactured homes, some mobile park residents face big problems By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Roma Duran’s home for the past 19 years is now worthless. The 74-year-old resident must move out of Crest Imperial Mobile Estates in Medford by late next year to make room for a commercial development planned by the Rogue Valley Manor. Like many other residents, Duran came face to face with a big problem. "I couldn’t find a place for my mobile home to be moved to," she said. Duran discovered that her manufactured home is too old to qualify for any of the mobile home parks she contacted. Though she spent $4,000 on a new roof and another $4,000 on new windows in recent years, she may have to get rid of her home — and she doesn’t know how. Advertisement "They (the Manor) should help us get rid of this or find a place to move it," she said. The Manor received approval from the city of Medford six years ago to convert the 6.37-acre park into a commercial development. "Everyone’s known for six years that something was going to happen to the park," said Manor attorney Rob Patridge. He said two-thirds of the residents of the 45-space park already have made arrangements to relocate. Twenty of them, who have lived at the Manor for more than six years, will receive $2,000 in aid. Manor spokeswoman Sarah Prewitt said the residents have been given a relocation package that includes a list of all mobile home parks in Southern Oregon, although she agreed it was difficult to find a place for the older units. She said the Manor has been contacted by a park in Prospect that takes older mobile homes. The Manor has given elderly residents the option of moving into senior housing it owns and has set up a meeting with ACCESS Inc. to help residents find affordable housing. Prewitt said senior housing costs about 30 percent of adjusted gross income. Mobile park residents are encouraged to call 857-7970 to get assistance from the Manor about their options, but Prewitt said some of the residents don’t like the idea of apartment living. Patridge said, "They’ve chosen to make a lifestyle choice rather than make other arrangements. We didn’t force them into that situation." Norma Allen, a former resident of the park who spearheads the group Residents United, said, "For the majority of this park it’s a no-win situation." While the Manor has offered to pay $2,000 each to compensate about half the mobile home owners, Allen said that isn’t enough for people who have discovered their manufactured homes are worthless because of the Manor’s decision. "They (the Manor) need to be responsible if they can’t move them to another location," she said. "It’s a just — a fair thing — to do. It’s a compassionate thing." Allen, who lives in Eagle Point but still has title to one of the manufactured homes in the park, doesn’t think the Manor has always been up front with the tenants. In an April 24, 1998, document that she produced the Manor stated, "There are no immediate plans for the park." Then she showed a Mail Tribune article published the following month that described the plans to get rid of the mobile home park. Allen said Jackson County has agreed to lower property taxes on the manufactured homes. She suggested the Manor show a similar willingness to help the residents by not collecting rent, which is roughly $300 a month, for the next year to help in this transition period. County Assessor Dan Ross said his department has decided to treat Crest Imperial as a hardship case, knocking $2,000 off the assessed valuation for a single-wide unit and $4,000 for a double-wide home. Allen’s daughter, Carie Sterling, was worried that her single-wide would be worthless even though she had a mortgage for $13,000. "Most parks won’t accept anything older than 1980," said the 27-year-old mother of two girls. But she said she got lucky because she found a mobile home park in White City that has agreed to take the home, which was built in 1977. "They said they would take it if it’s still in good shape," she said. "They’re going to come over and take a look at it." With new skirting, setup charges and moving, Sterling estimates it will cost her up to $5,000 to relocate. Lois Urton, 64, said her daughter, Christina Urton, had just purchased one of the mobile homes for $5,000 next to her and hadn’t even unpacked her belongings when she got the word that she’d have to move out within a year. Urton, whose daughter purchased the mobile home from Allen, said her daughter knew the park would be closed but thought it was going to be a lot further in the future. Now, both she and her daughter aren’t sure what they’ll do, although Urton has 3.5 acres in Jackson County and is looking into relocating there. Urton, who works at Wal-Mart, said that whatever happens, it will be difficult. "Let’s face it, $2,000 won’t even pay to move and set up if you can set up," she said. Residents like Barbara Petersen, who moved to the park after Jan. 1, 1999, won’t get the $2,000. Petersen, 54, has lived in a 22-foot trailer at the park for two years and said she plans to move out just after Christmas with her husband, Kim, a 42-year-old mechanic. She said they could try to find another site for the trailer, but would prefer to rent a two-bedroom house. "But it’s going to be hard to find a house that we can afford," she said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Manor’s plans to build could run into problems of their own Clearing out the Crest Imperial Mobile Estates on Ellendale Drive is part of long-range plans to improve the entrance into the Rogue Valley Manor. Manor attorney Rob Patridge said preliminary plans call for a hotel, shops, restaurant, office buildings and a residential area on or near the property. The plans could be affected, however, by construction of the new South Medford interchange, which the Oregon Department of Transportation has scheduled to begin in 2006. The interchange also could affect the driving range at the Manor’s Quail Point Golf Course, he said. The Manor had hoped to build a restaurant near the interchange, but a large earthen off-ramp may derail that part of the project, Patridge said. "We’re still not sure what ODOT’s going to do," he said. Patridge said the Manor plans to keep the Quail Point course even though it is going to build a new 18-hole championship course to the east. He said there are many residents who purchased homes because they overlook the golf course. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities