Phoenix mobile home residents heartbroken after city council rejects rezoning proposal

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Hundreds of people living at three mobile home parks in Phoenix will need to find a new home, fast. Phoenix City Council rejected a proposal on Wednesday night to rezone the properties saying it could put the city in legal and financial trouble. This vote is an emotional one for people forced to move.

People living in the Weldon Court mobile home park are being forced out. Come June, what was once a community with over 65 homes will look like an empty parking lot. The people here say Phoenix City Council is to blame. “They’re just kicking us out of our homes. And people around here live paycheck to paycheck. And people have been here so long, like our credit is not good,” said Dennis Huddleston, the former property manager at Weldon Court.

After a 5-4 vote, Phoenix City Council approved $2.5 million of emergency funding at three Phoenix mobile home parks to help residents find new homes. But they did not approve other recommendations like zoning changes, development moratoriums, or giving people more time to find a new home.

Residents are now officially getting the boot. “There are going to be people that will be homeless. They don’t know where to go. Some say they will set up a tent. They are worried about their kids in school,” said Carmen Prieto, who has lived in Weldon for 15 years.

For Huddleston, he worries about his neighbors. “There’s a lot of families, a lot of kids, a lot of single moms with two and three kids. What are they gonna do?” he said. Arizona’s Family learned these communities are family oriented. “Everyone is family here. I mean when people have cookouts they invite everybody, and it’s just, it’s sad,” said Huddleston.

The residents here aren’t the only ones upset by the council’s decision. Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari sent Arizona’s Family this statement:

But the vote is good news for GCU. They own Periwinkle Property, purchasing the park seven years ago to expand their campus. In a portion of a statement, GCU officials said, “With the funding that GCU is providing, combined with state funding and now additional dollars from the City of Phoenix, we are confident we can help people end up in a positive situation.”

What comes next? People here have until June 30 to pack up all their belongings and find somewhere else to live.

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