LV City Council hears of problems at park

Sito Negron

Thursday, April 8, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

Beth Jones stood before the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday and poured forth her litany of complaints about Sky-Vue Mobile Park, where health and safety authorities have spent the past few weeks looking into problems like broken sewer lines and broken windows.

When she finished speaking, Councilman Lawrence Weekly assured her that the authorities were looking into the problems.

"These people are living in real serious conditions," he said.

Jones, a resident and former manager at the park at 15 W. Owens Ave., has been calling various regulatory agencies -- from the city, county and state -- to look at problems there. A Sun review of the public record showed numerous complaints filed with various agencies since at least August, and the park has been without a business license since October for failing to install fire hydrants, something the Las Vegas Fire Department had ordered since 2000.

Most recently the park failed inspections from the city of Las Vegas Neighborhood Services department and the state Division of Manufactured Housing. In addition, the Clark County Health District is assessing the park, and has yet to make public its findings, although it ordered immediate repairs to leaking sewer pipes last week.

The uncertainty of the situation is creating tension for the residents, many of whom are worried they'll be stuck with no place to go if the park must be closed. During a visit to the park Wednesday, almost no residents were willing to have their names used, and opinions were split about what should happen next.

While the park is in disrepair, and the public record shows that health and safety code violations are widespread, families live there, and uprooting them could cause more damage than good, many residents said.

The situation also is complicated by the fact that some people own their trailers and others are renting, so officials have to deal with each group differently.

Mayor Oscar Goodman said the situation "sounds deplorable." He said he "didn't want it on our conscience" if anyone was hurt there. He wondered if "faith-based" groups would be able to provide relocation assistance.

As the health and safety inspections proceed, and residents wonder whether they will be able to stay, another issue has divided Sky-Vue. Residents said that they have been served eviction notices. It's not clear how many, although park operator Sandi Dimarco said previously that she had 35 evictions under way.

Dimarco could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Jim Vilt, a lawyer for Nevada Legal Aid, is working with some of the residents. He said there were three hearings Wednesday and five more this week.

He said the residents have little recourse once in court because the judge generally only looks at whether they owe money or not.

"There's nothing to prevent the landlord from saying you never paid me," Vilt said. "For most people, not just here (Sky-Vue) but in general, pay cash. They (the tenants) don't get rental receipts and keep very spotty records, and the landlord says you not only owe me rent, you owe me late fees."

He said that residents in mobile parks can file a "48-hour notice" if they don't have basic services like water or gas, and can withhold rent if the problem is not fixed.

"But other than that, there's not much in the way of defense, other than that you paid," Vilt said.

Many residents at Sky-Vue said they don't have lease agreements. Vilt said that at mobile parks, there's no rule that requires lease agreements if tenancy is less than one year.

"Whether or not you have a lease, you really need to get receipts as you pay," Vilt said.

Claiming that tenants did not pay, Vilt said, "is usually an easy way to bounce people out."

The Sky-Vue residents, he said, are "in a real spot, and most likely unless they're able to prove they have paid -- and the burden seems to fall on them as a practical matter -- they're going to get evicted."