'This Is My Last Hope': Mobile Home Park To Be Annexed By Boulder
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - People living in a longtime unincorporated enclave in Boulder are unsure about the future of their community. On Tuesday night, city council voted to annex Ponderosa Mobile Home Park, located on North Broadway, and eventually replace the infrastructure and many homes.
The city purchased the property in 2017 to ensure long-term affordability for the residents and to address ongoing concerns of the condition of the current infrastructure.
Kim Poteet, who has lived in his unit for ten years, called the park the last affordable place to live in Boulder.
"This is my last hope here," He said. "A lot of people think $530 a month is cheap. Well to me it's not cheap."
Poteet and others want to stay at the park longer, but now they have a decision to make.
As part of the plan associated with annexation, the city will look to replace some 68 mobile homes over a decade long period. The fixed-foundation homes would range from single family homes, to some duplexes and fourplexes.
Current residents would have access to the new homes, built by partner Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, if they sell their mobile home to the city.
"If they sell to us they can move elsewhere, or if they choose to move into a habitat home, they have the option to do that or they can stay in their mobile home," said Crystal Launder, a housing planner with the city.
According to Launder, residents who sell will get financial support from the city and Flatirons Habitat for Humanity. The support could include low interest loans and silent second mortgages.
The city will also offer fixed-priced land leases.
"It takes the value of the land out of the value of the home, which means that it creates that deeper affordability," Launder said.
But, while residents can sell their homes on the open market, the new owner wouldn't be allowed to lease the land under the home. The city will not offer new leases to people outside the park.
"If we could sell this on the market value we could get double what they've offered easily," Poteet said.
That's why Poteet and his wife have made up their minds. They plan to pass on the offer to sell and remain in their mobile home.
"Basically they're going to force us out of here in the long run, is what I predict," Poteet said.
The city will start with upgrading and replacing the aging infrastructure around the mobile home park in 2020. After that, the first homes will be built on the less-developed west side, so people can move in once they sell.
