“The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court denied the appeal brought by the owners of a German Flatts mobile home park,” said the Utica Observer Dispatch.
A manufactured home community in German Flatts has lost their most recent appeal. The Town of German Flatts, according to a variety of local media, spent well over 6 figures in getting their land-lease community closed.
William and Virginia Jaquish are the owners of the property. According to a public statement by their attorney, Mark Wolber, asked the town board during a hearing last year for their reason for closing their property? What purpose does it serve to remove the residents of that community?
“And you’ll have a black eye shutting down a perfectly good, operating, safe aesthetically pleasing trailer park1,” said attorney Wolber, according to CNYHomepage. “And you’re going to be the ones responsible for doing that. People will drive by and say what happened here; well this town board closed this park and shutdown, why? We don’t really know why.”
The attorney for the Mrs. and Mrs. Jaquish added, “Somebody has an agenda somewhere to close this park. It is the only property that the town is going after to closedown despite other properties that were more seriously damaged in the 2013 flood.”
“But while the decision effectively ends the case, the matter still could involve a judge because the park’s owners have not complied with the court’s directives, said attorney Jeffrey S. Baker of Young/Sommer LLC Attorneys at Law in Albany, who is representing the town of German Flatts,” per UticaOD.
The town’s attorney said the court ruling required the owners, William and Virginia Jaquish, to remove some of the manufactured homes, while restoring the erosion control wall the town had constructed in 2007-08 to its original state.
“They were supposed to have the work completed by June 11 and they have not done it,” said Baker.
The vexing case has been an issue on talk radio, and the local media for years on end.
A prior, detailed report on the case covered by the Daily Business News is linked below.
Future Looks Bleak for MHC – Daily Business News
TweetIn the Mohawk Valley of New York state, an ongoing battle between a manufactured home community and the town it’s in, one side landed what could be a knockout blow. According to the Times Telegram, Bill and Virginia Jaquish, owners of the Creekside Mobile Home Park in German Flatts have been in a battle to …
It’s arguably a tragedy for those residents, who according to local media, didn’t want to leave their homes, and supported the efforts to save the community.
Its also an obvious blow to the interests of the couple who owns the property.
But beyond those troubling issues is another question. Is this part of a larger pattern that community owners in various parts of the U.S. are telling MHProNews about? Namely, that local jurisdictions are allegedly targeting some manufactured home communities for closure?
Examples of other cases with similar concerns are found in the Related Reports, linked below. Copies of the rulings on two appeals are attached here and here. ## (News, analysis, and commentary.)
Footnote 1: SIC – the error in terminology “trailer park” is in the original quote. A snapshot of the industry, including terminology, is linked here.
(Third party images are provided under fair use guidelines.)
Related Reports:
Different Kind of Community Closure, Continues Grabbing Headlines in Mainstream News
Manufactured Home Communities, Retailers, Developers Face Disruptive, Troubling Trend
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