Justice for Lake Elmo Cimarron Park Residents
Justice for Lake Elmo Cimarron Park Residents
The Issue
The residents of Cimarron manufactured home park are faced with steep rent increases above national averages, poor management, reduced service and advertised ammentities, and poor maintenance. This is our fight to fight, and we are fighting. We are up against a predatory out of state corporate landlord. It has become too much and we are seeking help and support from our Lake Elmo and surrounding community neighbors.
Here are a list of our greatest concerns living in Cimarron.
-Unreasonable annual rent increases
-Unmaintained roads with large potholes
-Snow and ice not removed from walking paths and sidewalks
-Frequent water main breaks
-Residents are not allowed to have home for sale signs in yard, but when the park sells a home they display signs, this makes it difficult to sell a home on your own
-Management making all families remove kid size pools, swing sets, and trampolines in yards
-No public trash cans
-Dog park is not maintained and full of dirt, weeds, and trash
-Tree trimming and dead tree removal is infrequent, limited, and very slow
-Lack of park security
-No 24/7 onsite property management despite city ordinance requiring this
-Common ground maintenance and upkeep
-Unsafe/uneven sidewalks and walking trails
-Unkept foreclosed and abandoned homes on lots that the owner is respsonsible for
-No on street parking allowed for guests or residents despite leases permitting it
-Handicapped residents refused the right to park in the street to allow enough space to get power wheelchairs in and out of their vehicles
-No notice from management or maintenance given when entering our lots for non emergent reasons
-Management often doesn’t return phone calls or voicemails
-Unlawful daily towing of vehicles
-Outdoor lighting that is out of code, resulting in extreme darkness at night
-Unmaintained storm shelters that contain water damage, graffiti, trash
-Golf course and clubhouse has been closed since 2020
-Basketball court is in shambles
-Playground literally fell apart and is gone now
-Baseball fields not maintained and are gone
-Street sweeping is only once per year and comes late in the Summer
-Pool inconsistently open and reduced hours of operation
-Late fees that exceed the amount stated in our leases
-Threats of large fees for minor rule violations (real example - $3500 to replace sod because a residents tire was parking partially touching the grass near the curb)
-Community room inconsistently open for use and smells like mold
-Fear based management
-Intimidation from management for participating in community residents association activities
-Harassment and violent altercations with park maintenance staff
-Management will not meet with residents association board to work together on solutions
-No communication from park management about PFAS water contamination
-Trees down, debris, and branches remain from storm damage on April 1st (almost 2 months later, we are told to be patient
-Residents told by management they cannot live in the park and own businesses
We should not have to live like this and most certainly not at the price we pay. There are hundreds of children in our community that would benefit from staying busy and active by using the ammenities we pay for but can’t enjoy. These are the same great kids that go to school with your children. We do not believe these issues support an 8% rent increase annually. Residents are left with fear and uncertainty on how they will make ends meet. We have received consistent unreasonable rent increases through out the pandemic to current, despite a lack of service, maintenance, and ammentities. We understand inflation and understand reasonable changes in rent. We just want to be tenants treated with fairness and respect. The monthly lot rent is $906/month. This is only lot rent and doesn’t include the home mortgage. Living in a manufactured home is not affordable, the cost to purchase has jumped 46% in Minnesota. Corporate landlords are expanding their manufactured housing portfolios recently, pushing up rent and displacing residents. The largest operator of manufactured home communities in the U.S. is Cimarron’s corporate landlord - Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns around 140,000 lots across 446 properties. ELS reports consistent profit margins and 17 years straight of increased dividends paid to shareholders.
Cimarron is not a case of being priced out of paradise. These are families being priced out of the modest homes they worked hard for. If you are 10 days late paying rent the eviction process is started which triggers a large legal fee that makes catching up even more challenging. Senior citizens, veterans, and the disabled on fixed incomes are losing their homes. Hard working families living paycheck to paycheck are afraid they won’t make ends meet. They way residents are treated and the consistent rent increases are not justified and are far from reasonable. We are deeply concerned about the poorest and must vulnerable in our community; the families, children, senior citizens, disabled, and Veterans.
We know we have the right to leave if we don’t like it here. This is easier said than done for many families working hard to survive. The affordable housing shortage makes it extremely challenging to just move on. Most importantly, we are part of this community and Lake Elmo is where we proudly call home. We want to stay, we deserve to stay, and we will continue to demand justice and fight for democracy.
As a community, we are united to advocate for ourselves and fight for what’s right together. WE ARE ASKING FOR YOU TO STAND ALONGSIDE US AND SUPPORT US WITH A SIGNATURE ON THIS PETITION.
Please note: The youth center, teen center, cimarron farm, and bi-weekly onsite food distributions are not provided or executed by ELS. The company does infact advertise these features and often indicates in media responses that they offer and provide these services. This is simply not the case. Many hardworking and generous non-profits and community volunteers have stepped up to make these impactful services available to the residents and children who live in the community. From the bottom of our hearts, please know how thankful and grateful we are for this generosity and support. Thank you to all the Lake Elmo community volunteers, the Cimarron Farm (Madeline and Elise), Family Means, Open Cupboard, Valley Outreach, Community Support of our Students (CSOS), Washington County, Community Action, Second Harvest, Newtrax Transportation and anyone I may have unintentionally overlooked.
To learn more about the residents issues at Cimarron, please review the following recent media coverage:
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/11/sam-zell-mobile-home-king-evictions-hell
281
The Issue
The residents of Cimarron manufactured home park are faced with steep rent increases above national averages, poor management, reduced service and advertised ammentities, and poor maintenance. This is our fight to fight, and we are fighting. We are up against a predatory out of state corporate landlord. It has become too much and we are seeking help and support from our Lake Elmo and surrounding community neighbors.
Here are a list of our greatest concerns living in Cimarron.
-Unreasonable annual rent increases
-Unmaintained roads with large potholes
-Snow and ice not removed from walking paths and sidewalks
-Frequent water main breaks
-Residents are not allowed to have home for sale signs in yard, but when the park sells a home they display signs, this makes it difficult to sell a home on your own
-Management making all families remove kid size pools, swing sets, and trampolines in yards
-No public trash cans
-Dog park is not maintained and full of dirt, weeds, and trash
-Tree trimming and dead tree removal is infrequent, limited, and very slow
-Lack of park security
-No 24/7 onsite property management despite city ordinance requiring this
-Common ground maintenance and upkeep
-Unsafe/uneven sidewalks and walking trails
-Unkept foreclosed and abandoned homes on lots that the owner is respsonsible for
-No on street parking allowed for guests or residents despite leases permitting it
-Handicapped residents refused the right to park in the street to allow enough space to get power wheelchairs in and out of their vehicles
-No notice from management or maintenance given when entering our lots for non emergent reasons
-Management often doesn’t return phone calls or voicemails
-Unlawful daily towing of vehicles
-Outdoor lighting that is out of code, resulting in extreme darkness at night
-Unmaintained storm shelters that contain water damage, graffiti, trash
-Golf course and clubhouse has been closed since 2020
-Basketball court is in shambles
-Playground literally fell apart and is gone now
-Baseball fields not maintained and are gone
-Street sweeping is only once per year and comes late in the Summer
-Pool inconsistently open and reduced hours of operation
-Late fees that exceed the amount stated in our leases
-Threats of large fees for minor rule violations (real example - $3500 to replace sod because a residents tire was parking partially touching the grass near the curb)
-Community room inconsistently open for use and smells like mold
-Fear based management
-Intimidation from management for participating in community residents association activities
-Harassment and violent altercations with park maintenance staff
-Management will not meet with residents association board to work together on solutions
-No communication from park management about PFAS water contamination
-Trees down, debris, and branches remain from storm damage on April 1st (almost 2 months later, we are told to be patient
-Residents told by management they cannot live in the park and own businesses
We should not have to live like this and most certainly not at the price we pay. There are hundreds of children in our community that would benefit from staying busy and active by using the ammenities we pay for but can’t enjoy. These are the same great kids that go to school with your children. We do not believe these issues support an 8% rent increase annually. Residents are left with fear and uncertainty on how they will make ends meet. We have received consistent unreasonable rent increases through out the pandemic to current, despite a lack of service, maintenance, and ammentities. We understand inflation and understand reasonable changes in rent. We just want to be tenants treated with fairness and respect. The monthly lot rent is $906/month. This is only lot rent and doesn’t include the home mortgage. Living in a manufactured home is not affordable, the cost to purchase has jumped 46% in Minnesota. Corporate landlords are expanding their manufactured housing portfolios recently, pushing up rent and displacing residents. The largest operator of manufactured home communities in the U.S. is Cimarron’s corporate landlord - Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns around 140,000 lots across 446 properties. ELS reports consistent profit margins and 17 years straight of increased dividends paid to shareholders.
Cimarron is not a case of being priced out of paradise. These are families being priced out of the modest homes they worked hard for. If you are 10 days late paying rent the eviction process is started which triggers a large legal fee that makes catching up even more challenging. Senior citizens, veterans, and the disabled on fixed incomes are losing their homes. Hard working families living paycheck to paycheck are afraid they won’t make ends meet. They way residents are treated and the consistent rent increases are not justified and are far from reasonable. We are deeply concerned about the poorest and must vulnerable in our community; the families, children, senior citizens, disabled, and Veterans.
We know we have the right to leave if we don’t like it here. This is easier said than done for many families working hard to survive. The affordable housing shortage makes it extremely challenging to just move on. Most importantly, we are part of this community and Lake Elmo is where we proudly call home. We want to stay, we deserve to stay, and we will continue to demand justice and fight for democracy.
As a community, we are united to advocate for ourselves and fight for what’s right together. WE ARE ASKING FOR YOU TO STAND ALONGSIDE US AND SUPPORT US WITH A SIGNATURE ON THIS PETITION.
Please note: The youth center, teen center, cimarron farm, and bi-weekly onsite food distributions are not provided or executed by ELS. The company does infact advertise these features and often indicates in media responses that they offer and provide these services. This is simply not the case. Many hardworking and generous non-profits and community volunteers have stepped up to make these impactful services available to the residents and children who live in the community. From the bottom of our hearts, please know how thankful and grateful we are for this generosity and support. Thank you to all the Lake Elmo community volunteers, the Cimarron Farm (Madeline and Elise), Family Means, Open Cupboard, Valley Outreach, Community Support of our Students (CSOS), Washington County, Community Action, Second Harvest, Newtrax Transportation and anyone I may have unintentionally overlooked.
To learn more about the residents issues at Cimarron, please review the following recent media coverage:
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/11/sam-zell-mobile-home-king-evictions-hell
281
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Petition created on May 25, 2023