RIVERDALE, Utah — Jason Williams has lived in Lesley's Mobile Home Park for 22 years, his mother lived here before that. He says he knew the evictions were coming but it doesn't make it any easier.
"They wanted their nice apartments here instead of a trailer park," Williams said.
Riverdale City says the park was rezoned out of concern for the health and safety of the residents in the park and the surrounding communities, but residents believe it was planned degradation by the owners to make a rezone more appealing.
Rosemary, another longtime resident, says the park used to be beautiful, but ever since the new ownership the conditions have decreased.
"I've worked with them from day one trying to get code enforcement out here, I like to call it planned degradation where the investors of the property allow everything, they allow people to move in, they didn't do background checks, they were allowing motor homes in here from the 1960s so that it would fall apart," Williams said.
I reached out to Lesley's Mobile Home Park for comment on the conditions of the park.
Even with his own housing influx, Williams is still helping neighbors like Rosemary find housing resources.
"I feel really bad we have nowhere to go," Rosemary said.
Williams says he mostly helps people get into subsidized housing which he says is a "blessing for some, but horrible for most".
Riverdale City says they hope to work with the developers to make some of the housing that replaces the park affordable for moderate incomes, but residents say that will still be out of their price range.
"None of us can afford that. I've had years of child support and responsibilities, I have great credit, I could go buy anything I want, but I can't afford it," Williams said.
"I'm on disability, retirement, and I don't have enough money to go anywhere, I've been looking, but they want over 1,000 something dollars, I might as well just go with the homeless," Rosemary said.
As far as Williams' future plans are concerned, he hopes he can find a mover to help him relocate at a reasonable cost.
"I found a place to move my trailer, but to get people to move my trailer is more expensive than I thought moving it twelve miles is $9,000," Williams said.
Residents of Lesley's Mobile Home Park will be forced to move or vacate the property by May 31st.
