Trailer park evictions on hold
MID-CITY When looking for a place to live, does size really matter? Is a roof above, a place to rest your head and some space to cook and get clean enough?
Not for residents living in the Village Trailer Park, many of whom are dissatisfied with a developer’s plan to close the park and move them into studio apartments as small as 250 square feet — about the size of two GMC Sierra pickups parked side by side, or an average room at the Best Western Gateway Hotel.
That’s the reality many tenants of the trailer park are facing in light of redevelopment plans for the park, situated at 2930 Colorado Avenue.
“My trailer is my own space,” said Jack Boddington, a longtime resident of the trailer park. “I have my own patio and don’t have to deal with people living above me, below me and at the side of me, just sharing walls.
“I can create my own patio and my own foliage and shade area without intrusion … I can’t do that in a hallway.”
The City Council on Tuesday voted in favor of pursuing a development agreement with the park’s owners after hearing testimony from park residents.
The development agreement process gives the council more control over the proposed development and will allow elected officials to set certain conditions, which could include increasing the size of the studio units being offered to present trailer park residents.
The council has also expressed some concern about the overall size of the development, which could reach as high as four stories.
“It is out of scale,” said Mayor Pro Tem Herb Katz, a professional architect. “It’s far too big … The whole plan needs to be restudied, redeveloped. I don’t see any reason to allow extra heights of four stories. Compatibility is a major concern of this city.”
The owners of the trailer park have proposed building 109 rent-controlled studio units, 240 market-rate condominiums, 40,300 square feet of studio commercial space and a little over 8,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail on the 3.85 acre site. There are also plans to build 503 parking spaces.
The park is currently developed with 109 spaces for mobile homes.
Marc Luzzatto, one of the owners of the property, has repeatedly said that the 109 rent-controlled units would be built first and set aside for mobile home park residents. Luzzatto and his partners would help pay relocation costs. The units would have brand new, energy efficient appliances, he said.
For those who do not want to move out of their trailers, Luzzatto said he would help them relocate to another trailer park within the city or give them the “blue book” value for their trailers, many of which cannot be moved under state law because of their age and construction type. Luzzatto said he would be willing to set a floor price for the trailers that are in bad shape.
“We are trying to come up with something that works for everyone,” Luzzatto told the council Tuesday. “I don’t want to diminish the feelings of residents here. It is difficult to go through any transition. But I want to focus on what we can gain. I realize that some things are lost, including that space outside the trailer, but other things will be gained and we can build on that and find some common consensus.”
Some may say that those living in trailers should be used to close quarters, but not Village Park residents. They point to the land outside their doorsteps. The grassy area is theirs to decorate and make their own. When it’s a hot summer day, they can walk out of their trailers and sit in their shaded patio area, or pull out the barbecue and grill some steaks.
Living in an apartment complex filled with small studio apartments will not allow them to do that, they contend.
The council seems inclined to agree. “A 250-square-foot unit just doesn’t cut it,” said Councilman Ken Genser, who lived many years ago in a 485-square foot studio that he said was only bearable because it was located adjacent to the beach and had 10-
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.