Country Meadows wins preliminary injunction

Ruling places rent increases on hold 


On Aug. 16, the County Meadows homeowners’ association, Organizacion de Nuevas Esperanzas (ONE) won the preliminary injunction that it filed last month against Ski Town Village, LLC, the new owner of the Gunnison mobile home park. The court’s decision temporarily suspended the substantial rent increase that went into effect on July 1, as well as late fees. 

The future of the Country Meadows, renamed Ski Town Village, mobile home park has been uncertain since it first went up for sale more than a year ago. Residents, fearing an investor would purchase the property and force them out, tried and failed to purchase the park themselves. On May 4 of this year, homeowners received a letter stating that the park had been sold, and that their rent would rise by 70% on July 1.

ONE filed a complaint and a request for a temporary restraining order in Gunnison District Court against Ski Town Village in July to block an excessive rent increase and for failure to maintain the property and alleviate a lack of running water. On Aug. 8, tenants and community members funneled in and out of the Gunnison County Courthouse throughout a tense, full-day hearing. The ONE organization contended that the proposed 70% rent increase violates the Mobile Home Park Act and is unaffordable for many of the park’s residents.

Following the sale, John Romero, the initial chief executive officer and owner of Ski Town Village, met with the board and expressed that his intent was to use the rent increase to help cover the cost of road and water system improvements, as well as to make a profit. According to court records, he left his position the second week of July. 

Ski Town Village’s legal representative said the owner spent $3 million to purchase the park, and the rent increase is to help recover that investment. He also acknowledged the ongoing talks at the state level about adding rent control into the Mobile Home Park Act and said the owner was “trying to get ahead of that.” 

Multiple witnesses from Country Meadows came to the stand to express the inconsistencies of management under the new ownership and the persistent problems that had not been addressed — periodic lack of a water supply, road flooding, trash accumulation that attracted animals and overhanging trees at risk of falling on homes. 

Country Meadows resident Harry Miller said some tenants took actions to address the issues themselves, filling potholes, picking up tree limbs and cleaning out ditches so they didn’t flood the park. When he notified Ski Town Village of the work, he said he was told “it was on me.” Many calls to Ski Town Village about water, flooding and trash often went unanswered for days, he said. 

“One minute to the next, we didn’t know if we’d have water or not,” Miller said. 

Blair Kanis, founder and vice president of the Colorado Poverty Law Project, represented Country Meadows at the hearing, along with local attorney William Edwards. The Denver-based nonprofit focuses on eviction defense and resident rights and frequently partners with local community organizations to help mobile home owners understand their rights. 

Colorado law requires the plaintiff applying for a preliminary injunction to pay a bond to the court when the relief is granted. Ski Town Village requested a bond of almost $200,000 to cover a year’s worth of rent for the park, but the court settled on $25,000. The bond is designed to balance equities in the case the injunction is overruled and gives the defendant some protection while the case is ongoing. 

Kanis said it was good to see the bond wasn’t set so high that it was out of reach, but ONE will have to be able to produce that bond to the court for the injunction to continue to be enforceable in the long term. 

Although the ruling is not the end of the case, it will provide protection for the residents who can’t afford the rent increase while the litigation continues. With a civil case, Kanis said ONE can expect to wait up to 12 months to get to trial. 

The ruling’s significance extends beyond Gunnison County and sets what Kanis described as an “exciting precedent” for mobile home park owners within Colorado. In 2020, Colorado legislature passed the Mobile Home Park Act to create more protections for tenants as their communities began to become more vulnerable to ownership changes. 

“A lot of these new protections under the Mobile Home Park Act haven’t been tested in court … This was a significant victory to show that these new laws do have teeth,” she said. 

(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)

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