‘Urgency to proceed’: Regina mobile home community hopes city can delay looming evictions

WATCH: Residents at the Glen Elm Trailer Park say they’re hoping City of Regina Council can help them delay eviction. Donovan Maess has more.

Residents of the Glen Elm Mobile Home Community are turning to city council to step in to delay more than a dozen eviction notices that were served last month.

On Jan. 21, 14 residents received eviction notices from the park’s site manager set for April 30.

“We’re confused,” Glen Elm Retirement Community Residents Association president Randall Edge told CTV News. “We don’t understand. But clearly there’s a sense of urgency to proceed.”

According to the notices, the park contains damaged and aging water and sewage infrastructure.

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Despite significant efforts, the damage to the system is supposedly irreparable and it’s possible the system could shut down at any time due to far exceeding its lifespan, according to the notice.

The park’s management has given affected tenants some options. Homeowners have the ability to sell their home or are offering tenants with unremovable homes $6,000 for their dwelling, as well as waiving the demolition costs.

Edge says options and time are running out.

“We’re doing our very best to be responsible in our positions, responses and our requests for remedy,” he said. “We’ll just continue to work on potential remedies one step at a time.”

Petition to council

One of those potential remedies includes a petition to Regina City Council.

“Decisions are made by council,” Edge said. “That’s where this decision needs to be made. And that’s why our petition asks specifically for a notice of motion to be filed and the agenda of City council.”

The association’s petition gave three opinions they see fit for potential remedies.

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First, evicted residents could receive a one-time lifetime waiver that permits to them the legal right to purchase or rent a lot of land in the boundaries of the City of Regina.

Second, the possibility the city purchases the land for the Glen Elm Trailer Court to in turn prevent 130+ families from being rendered homeless and to continue to rent lots to residents in perpetuity.

And finally, the city creates a trailer court community comparable to the Glen Elm community on the grounds of the old Taylor Field.

“We cannot change the decision our families have to be out by April 30th,” Edge said. “We have no choice but to ask and petition.”

Area ward coun. Victoria Flores says she has been in contact with the community association and working with city administrators to find a potential solution.

Her hope is this less-than-ideal situation could spell greater change.

“One solution would be a zoning change that would allow manufactured homes to perhaps be placed in lots throughout the city,” Flores told CTV News Wednesday. “I am currently exploring and doing some research on if that would be feasible.”

“That’s something that could hopefully be able to help residents in the short term,” she added.

Currently, manufactured and mobile homes are only allowed where designated by zoning.

Flores is hoping to expand their land use availability.

“Many folks in our community are priced out of the housing market,” she said. “And if this opens up an option for them, that would be ideal.”

“[Glen Elm] has been a starting conversation for that,” Flores added.

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The retirement community association welcomed the idea.

“The city recognizes there is pent up need for short term, efficient, fast as shovel ready solutions to provide affordable housing to everyone here in Regina,” Edge said. “Nothing is more appropriate, built to code and safe as manufactured homes.”

Time running out

But as Flores prepares her motion, the April 30th deadline is quickly approaching for residents in the community.

“There’s not many options available to us,” Edge added. “That’s why I think it’s really responsible of us to ask for remedies from the city.”

Flores plans to present a notice to her fellow councillors at Wednesday’s meeting of council.

But meeting schedule could mean the issue is not debated until the end of March – only one month prior to the April 30 eviction deadline.

Flores recognized the short timeline.

“Time is very important, especially for those residents who have notice at the end of April,” she said.

In the meantime, residents continue to push for extensions to the timeline and remain cautiously optimistic an end to the saga may be in sight.

- With files from Mick Favel