Park Closing Date Extended!

City Attorney, Jennifer Ritchie, has given the owner, Steve Crossett extended time to close the Park. Mr. Crossett asked for the extension so that residents would have more time to make arrangements to move.

The Ash Creek Mobile Home Park closing date will NOW BE - APRIL 1, 2007.

This notice is met with mixed feelings - good and bad - but at least residents will have a tiny bit of extra time to make complex decisions about moving.

Ash Creek Closing??? Why??? Opinion Letters

Dallas Morning News Sunday Letters: Jan. 7, 2007


Ash Creek Action Deliberate by Earl Ashe
Response to: "Landlord failed the park," Sunday Letters. (see below)
.....We at Save Ash Creek Homes object to Ferguson Road Initiative president William M. Coleman's recent characterization of what happened to Ash Creek Mobile Home Park.
.....The park began its sense of history and place in 1949 and was incorporated into the city in 1952. It was granted a grandfather clause in the 1960s. In the 1980s, the city did something to hammer grandfathering, but the owner was never notified. We were blindsided in 2005 by Dallas City Council member Leo Chaney's Ferguson Road Initiative.
.....Although the City Plan Commission voted unanimously to give the owner an opportunity to correct problems, Mr. Chaney made sure that the owner would never be given an honest chance. He sent FRI warriors to lay siege to our community.
.....The park's owner needed to be held to account, not nuked. Mr. Chaney sent Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Richie to finish off the owner with a growing list of unreasonable code demands.
It was Mr. Chaney and his FRI agents who destroyed our unique community.
Earl Ashe, Save Ash Creek Homes, Dallas

Letter above referenced the Sunday letter below:

Dallas Morning News Sunday Letters: Dec. 31, 2006
Landlord Failed the Park by William Coleman
Response to: "Fight over mobile home park ends with eviction .... residents call move unfair" Dec. 16 Metro.
.....We at the Ferguson Road Initiative object to recent press concerning the closing of the Ash Creek Mobile Home Park. We work hard to improve the standard of living for everyone in our area. Since 1998, we have aggressively improved and removed businesses that fail city code requirements. We have never shied from confronting landlords who do not maintain their properties.
.....Our efforts to clean it up have been mischaracterized as an attempt to remove the park. The owner failed to take responsibility for his property. We are sorry that he did not care enough about his tenants or his community to be a responsible landlord by rectifying problems at the park and following the same rules we all have to abide by. Unfortunately, he made the residents victims.
.....Upon learning of the owner's eviction of the residents near the holidays, we established a fund to aid residents in relocating. To help, visit our Web site at www.fergusonroad.org.
William M. Coleman, President, Ferguson Road Initiative, Dallas

TIMING TERRIBLE to force Park Closing

AshCreek residents, Benito and Dwayne in April getting ready for the Protest at City Hall

All efforts to save the AshCreek Mobile Home Park seem over. The owner has given up after more than a year of hearings, upgrading and rezoning efforts. Now the owner has notified residents of a closing date of FEb. 9; (this date is partly due to a timeline set by Dallas City Attorney's office related to a recently requested requirement that the owner install a very expensive concrete drive thru the park (to meet firecodes). The road would replace an asphault road thru the park that the owner repaved a few years back at the request of the city. This concrete road requirement - with a cost of possibly over $150,000 is causing the owner to give up the fight to save the Park, but now the closing date gives a drastically unrealistic time period for residents to make plans for relocation.

FEB. 9 is the date (as of now) for all to be moved with all possessions removed from the Park, including their mobile home. Residents were notified only on Dec. 9. It is most difficult during this holiday season (many offices are closed and weather is unsure). Even with the help now being offered by City services, it is most difficult during this time period to make all the necessary arrangements and decisions for relocation. Many residents say they need to remain close to city bus lines, children's schools, and their work in this area - (but where to move?) The only close MobileHome Park (on Lawnview) does not have available space. Offers from Parks in far Mesquite, Seagoville, Hutchins does'nt work for most. Besides "money" for moving costs - TIME is critical most of all..... hopefully the City Attorney's office and the owner can agree on an extention of time.

The people at AshCreek simply need TIME as well as financial help to make this move. Let's hope the extended time comes forward very soon.

Would any of us want to be in these shoes? Deciding where to move, including trying to sell our home even, maybe having to move our children from their schools - all right during Christmas break and the New Year and the coming January winter weather!

Come on DALLAS, come on EVERYONE involved - what are we thinking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Concerned Neighbors of AshCreek Homes

c-noah@sbcglobal.net

Christmas Gifts for MHPark Residents

Garden Angel and AshCreek home decorated for Christmas 2006

Two days before Christmas area Neighbors of AshCreekMHPark delivered Christmas gifts and food gift cards for resident families with children and senior adults in the Park. Donations included Minyard and Walmart Gift Cards, toys, sleeping & atheletic bags, volley balls, dolls, cars, games, baby clothing, food and misc. gifts for adults.

As several neighbors arrived at the Park Saturday afternoon, children (expecting the arrival) run up to greet us. We wish all who donated so generously could have heard the gracious thank yous from parents and seen the smiles on small faces.

Hopefully these gifts from MANY Concerned Neighbors will bring a small amount of help and cheer to a gloomy holiday season for AshCreek residents.

Christmas donations for MHPark Residents

Deliver by Saturday - Dec. 23: Gifts or Minyard gift cards for AshCreek M H Park residents being collected by area Concerned Neighbors. Here are two types of donations:
*Donate $$ for Minyard Gift Cards or purchase the Gift Cards yourself
Minyards is the closet store to the MHPark
*Donate - Wrappped (or unwrapped) gifts – indicate if for adult or child (gender & age appropriate)
Deliver to 8166 Barbaree. Neighbors will deliver everything Sat. afternoon(day before Christmas Eve) to families with children and adult seniors of the Park .
Ages and gender for gifts: Senior adults, on fixed incomes, men & women - size range L to 2XX . Children: Girls ages 18, 14, 8, 4, toddlers & newborn Boys, ages 16, 14, 12, 11, 4 & toddlers.
Email c-noah@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions.

LOSERS & WINNERS in the AshCreek Battle

Christmas lights at AshCreek MHPark, by resident Jack Loughead

TRUTH about the "Battle of the AshCreek Mobile Home Park" must be spread; it has been a disgraceful handling by some of the powerful in the community. At a time of goodwill and cheer, those that live at AshCreek will lose their homes and community as they are forcefully moved from AshCreek Mobile Home Park. But who are truly the LOSERS and the WINNERS in the end of this story?

LOSERS – here are certainly at least (4) to make note of:
(1) Mr. Leo Chaney, City Councilman who supposedly represents the people who live at AshCreek MHPark. He mostly hid from them and would not meet with them. He showed no courage to try and address this situation, avoided speaking to the residents or anyone who did not agree with his political friends (of FRI) who started the effort to "get rid and fueled the continued fire to get rid of the MHPark along Ashcreek. Mr. Chaney is not a winner in this issue!

(2) The FRI (Ferguson Road Initiative) a community group trying to better the area near Ferguson Road. They failed this community (and certainly the residents of AshCreek MHPark) Within this group, the seed and networking began to "get rid of the MHPark", as they had identified the site long ago for big high‑dollar development. They went along with untrue crime and code claims against the Park, allowing every 911 call associated with the Park to stand for a criminal act; they never called for a true community meeting on the issue or invited the residents of the Park to speak with them, and never contacted the owner of the Park with any of their complaints before they went full force to "get rid of the Park" with a petition to the Board of Adjustments. In their zeal to find land for expensive real estate development, they forgot to consider the less fortunate and less powerful members of our community. They say they wish to "help" now ‑ why did they not try conversations and communications earlier to see how they might "help" rather than just trying to wipe AshCreek off the map in this community?

(3) Another loser? A Dallas lawyer (for FRI) ‑ Ms. Wolfe, has shown questionable ethics in the case against the MHPark, disregarding the ethical behavior of her profession ‑ not checking details of claims of crime and code issues before turning them in as overblown and untrue statistics in a legal filing to the Board of Adjustments of Dallas.

(4) Another real LOSER ‑ the Dallas City Attorney's office of Code Enforcement ‑ seemingly unable to be fair and reasonable in demands against the landowner/business owner of the AshCreek Mobile Home Park. This office through an assistant attorney has thrown unreasonable and costly Code issues against the owner in a demand for major $$ items to be taken care of in an unreasonable amount of time. One example, a demand that the current asphalt road thru the park be redone as concrete – a cost of more than $150,000. This not even a Code issue for AshCreek before the Board of Adjustments took the Grand fathered zoning away from the MHPark in Dec. 2006 (and that very decision is under appeal at this time). But City Attorney’s office demands this of the owner instantly. How can a landowner/businessman fight a multi-million dollar budget of the City Attorney's office ‑ their time and funds is never‑ending to continue the legal battle ‑ an individual business owner does not have unlimited funds to pay for lawyers and legal fees.

WINNERS:
WINNERS? Could it possibly be that the RESIDENTS of the MHPark will somehow come out the real WINNERS in some way down the road, in the future? They will certainly lose their community and homes, but maybe, MAYBE, they will ultimately be the WINNERS ‑ they will surely have better times and luck awaiting them in time, and they certainly do come to the end of this battle with their INTEGRITY and HONESTY still INTACT. They will be able to think back on the GOOD fight they gave to try and save their homes. Underneath it all, the RESIDENTS of ASHCREEK MHPark are the HEROS in this battle – which has been and continues to be a disgraceful story for the City of Dallas.

Marty Ray
One of Many Concerned Neighbors of AshCreek Homes - C-NOAH

TERMINATION of ASH CREEK MHPark

LETTER, RECEIVED BY U.S. MAIL
TO ASH CREEK MOBILE HOME PARK RESIDENTS

December 8, 2006
Dear Tenant:
As you are well aware, the Ash Creek Mobile Home Park has been the subject of several legal proceedings in the past year. On December14, 2005 the Board of Adjustment of the City of Dallas determined that the park would have an adverse effect on nearby properties. On February 15, 2006, the Board of Adjustment determined a date for the cessation of the nonconforming use. That date was November 15, 2006. I filed a lawsuit appealing the Board of Adjustment's decision in state court. Due to a procedural mechanism, the lawsuit was removed to federal court, where it remains pending. On June 2, 2006, I was served with a lawsuit filed by the City of Dallas. That lawsuit alleged that there were several violations of the Dallas City Code on the property. At this point, after spending a year trying to resolve the matters, I am financially unable to continue to do so.

Please be advised that the Ash Creek Mobile Home Park will cease operation as February 9, 2007. I sincerely regret that Ash Creek will be closing. I always planned to continued to operate the park. That plan, however, is no longer feasible under the circumstances. This letter shall serve as written notice of termination of the Lease, effective as of 5:00 p.m. on February 9, 2007 (the "Termination Date").

You have a month-to-month lease that is being terminated. Please take appropriate action to vacate the Leased Premises by February 9, 2007. Everyone residing at this address must vacate. You will also need to arrange to remove all of your property from the Leased Premises in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Lease no later than the Termination Date. Your Lease provides that I have the right to dispose of mobile homes and other property that you leave on the premises. After that date, you will have no further right to occupy or use the Leased Premises.

Very truly yours,
Steve Crossett
(owner of Ash Creek Mobile Home Park)

Christmas Lights at AshCreek Mobile Home Park

Jack Loughead, homeowner resident of Ashcreek Mobile Home Park, found these Christmas lights and decorations at homes of his Ashcreek neighbors, up very soon after Thanksgiving. The dreaded Nov. 15 date given by the Board of Adjustments to "shut down the Park" has passed. Decisions are up in the air and in the courts related the MHPark's future.

Santa's reindeer stand bright in front of a home at the AshCreek Mobile Home Park.
(photo by resident Jack Loughead).

Residents of AshcreekMHP decorate for Christmas....trying to find something "Merry" during another holiday season filled with worry about a forced move away from the place they know as home.