The third听Fall Forum for Manufactured Home Owners, planned by 精品SM在线影片's听Community Engagement, Design and Research Center (CEDaR)听in partnership with other organizations, doubled its attendance over last year.
About 90 people attended "Yes We Can! Engaging with Policies for Positive Change in Colorado鈥檚 Manufactured Home Communities," which took place听Nov. 9 at the East Boulder Community Center. Attendees included manufactured home (MH) residents and advocates from across the state, as well as听Colorado State Rep.听Edie Hooton and Rep. Julie McCluskie.听Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) program managers and other policymakers also were available to answer questions regarding the new 2019 MH residents' rights legislation, the Mobile Home Park Oversight Act (HB19-1309), passed by the Colorado Legislature in May 2019,听and its impact on MH owners and renters. 听
Lauren Riggin,听project manager for the Colorado Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners鈥� (CoCoMHO) statewide outreach initiative, attributed the attendance increase to听resident interest in the new MH legislation, which was sponsored by Hooton and McCluskie, as well as to a growing听sentiment among policymakers that preserving mobile home parks and protecting park听residents听is critical to addressing the state鈥檚 affordable housing crisis.听
"This really was a remarkable year for manufactured home owner rights in Colorado," Riggin said. "The Mobile Home Park听Oversight Act听is the first听Colorado legislation听ever expressly designed to enforce the resident rights aspects of the original 1985 act,听helping to correct听the extreme imbalance of power between mobile home听park home owners and landowners."
One forum听panel focused听on this legislation, which includes the creation of the "Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program鈥� (DREP), whereby homeowners can听submit听complaints about听their mobile home parks to the program run by DOLA's听Division of Housing. Prior to the DREP, park residents had little recourse against park owner infractions apart from cost-prohibitive courtroom action, Riggins said.
Along with other policymakers, DOLA program managers participated听on the panel, providing an opportunity for attendees to have their questions answered.听 The Division of Housing is authorized under the law to investigate, mediate听and take enforcement action on behalf of aggrieved residents and park owners alike, and the program launches听May 1.
Conference speakers and panelists included local activists and representatives from the city, county, and state, along with Brian Muller of CEDaR, and three nonprofit organizations. Also included were Cameron Netherland and McKenzie Brandon, student attorneys from the CU Law Clinic, who presented research about water infrastructure and billing听practices within听local manufactured housing parks.
The forum was co-organized by CEDaR, CoCoMHO, City of Boulder, Boulder County Public Health, and the Coalition of Manufactured Home Owners in Boulder (C-MOB).听 It was also supported in part by a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation.