Facilitation Success Stories

Conversion of Mobile Homes to Condos: Multiple Interests

The owner of a mobile home community wished to convert the park to condominiums by subdividing the parcel into individual lots, which he would sell. The state law governing this process is less restrictive than the applicable city law, and the owner had sued the city on the grounds that the state law preempted the city’s law. Meanwhile, the residents of this senior community were naturally fearful of being forced out of their homes. SEEDS facilitated a meeting between city agencies and the park residents to introduce the individual residents to a Resident Action Plan, developed by the city with the approval of the park’s Resident Association. The purpose of the plan was to meet everyone’s needs by:

Fully protecting non-purchasing residents who continue to reside in the park,
Providing many of the residents with the means to purchase their own spaces,
Keeping the City’s Conversion Law intact, and
Satisfying the owner, which would result in having the lawsuit dismissed.

SEEDS facilitators first divided residents into small groups to go over the plan. Facilitators ensured that residents understood the entire plan, identified and recorded additional concerns, and presented the voting form designed to have residents approve of the protections, and authorize the Board to enter into a written agreement with the owner which would be submitted to the City. Teaching techniques included repetition, visualization (handouts, charting responses, etc.), dividing information into simple concepts, and communicating in plain language. The small groups then reconvened, and the SEEDS facilitators presented any remaining questions and concerns to the entire group. Once all small groups had presented their reports and the discussion was concluded, the SEEDS facilitators asked the members to vote on the plan, and collected their ballots.