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spaces in the Eugene/Springfield area to accommodate “even one medium-sized park closure.” He said one proposal called for the developer to pay moving costs in excess of a payment from the State and a counterproposal called for an even split of this cost between the State, the City of Eugene, the developer, and the tenant. He opposed having the homeowner pay “a subsidy” to a developer who caused their eviction. He added that many homes were too old to be moved. He also asked the council to consider what happened to the tenants who did not have thousands of dollars “up front” to pay for moving. He said the inventory of market-rate apartments was limited and the rents were nearly double the cost of park space rent. He noted that St. Vincent DePaul reported a waiting list for affordable housing of more than 400 families and other agencies reported a wait of one to two years. He presented the petition, signed by 976 people. Tom Mitchell , 3355 North Delta Highway, Space #45, asked the council to consider a moratorium on the closure of manufactured home parks in Eugene until adequate protections were put in place for those people who may face eviction from their homes. He stated that he and his wife lived in Eugene for 46 years, the last 8 of which were spent in Lakeridge Manufactured Home Park. He had gathered 136 signatures in 12 days. He attributed the eagerness of people to sign to concerns he and his manufactured park community had about plans for a hospital to be constructed near the River Ridge Golf Course. He noted that the park entrance was directly across from the 11th hole. He said traffic past the park entrance was projected to increase by 60 percent if the hospital was built. He believed that if the City Council approved the hospital’s request to change the zoning the Lakeridge property would become more desirable to developers. He said the manufactured home park residents enjoyed a good relationship with the current owners of the park, but no one could predict the owners’ reaction to a purchase price that could far exceed their investment. He pointed out that one-third of the residents of the park were widows. He added that the double- and triple-wide homes in Lakeridge were not mobile and would be expensive to move, but even if they could be moved there were no parks in the Eugene/Springfield area that could accept significant numbers of these houses. He predicted that with the coming retirement of baby boomers would increase the need for affordable housing. He believed the “wave” of park closures that “started in the Portland area” was moving down the valley toward Eugene. He asked the council to “please be ready with a plan to forestall that wave.” Tonya White , 4785 Skyline Road South, Space #207, Salem, said that she was a former tenant of Emerald Valley Estates. She indicated that two years ago, the 20 residents of the park were given eviction notices just after Thanksgiving. Of the 20 homes, only one homeowner was able to afford to move. She stated that all of the other homeowners were forced to give their homes back to the bank. She explained that it cost between $12,000 and $17,000 to move a home and put it back to the same standard it was when started. She said the one homeowner who was able to move her house had purchased the home with a life insurance policy left from her deceased husband and then spent all of her savings to move her house one mile away. She shared that for her the experience had been devastating as it had for many of her neighbors. She averred that it devastated people’s credit and there was nothing to be done about it, no laws to protect her or her neighbors. She felt they had been dealt with in “a shady manner.” She explained that the home had been her grandfather’s and, as a result of its loss, he was now unable to borrow money to put a roof on the house in which he currently lives. She stressed that this was an affordable housing issue that threatened to put people out on the streets. th Bob Cassidy , 1401 East 27 Avenue, noted that the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) wanted to move earlier on the proposed Roosevelt project than it originally planned and that it would save approxi- mately $3.5 million. He personally did not object to EWEB making these kinds of business decisions as they made good business sense. He thought it also made sense for EWEB to “cooperate with the MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 13, 2006 Page 3 Regular Meeting