[Vision2020] More on City Councilwoman JoAnn Mack's son, Dan

[Pat Kraut]

Did I miss something? Why are you posting this info about Mack? Is it another zone problem?
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Joan Opyr 
  To: Vision2020 Moscow 
  Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 6:53 PM
  Subject: [Vision2020] More on City Councilwoman JoAnn Mack's son, Dan


  October 16, 2003
  Moscow-Pullman Daily News

  Moscow landowner has plans for new trailer park; Evictions will precede construction.
  By Hillary Hamm
   
  Dan Mack doesn’t want to be a “slumlord.” Mack said he bought Renaissance Park, a 15-space trailer park east of Moscow in 2001 as an investment. He did not expect to pick up trash and maintain trailers that aren’t his. He wants to demolish the park and start from scratch. “This park is going to fall apart,” Mack said. “There’s a year or two years until this thing is really going to be a problem. Some of these trailers really aren’t worth anything.”

  By next year, Mack said he expects to have 36 new two- and three-bedroom, single-wide homes in place. In order to begin construction, Mack must first clear the existing park by evicting all the tenants. “When and if this development happens, these trailers have to go, whether people are living in them or not,” he said. “Once we develop it, the lot they’re sitting on is going to be worth more than it is right now.”

  Thirteen of the park’s trailers are owned by independent landlords, while the remaining two are owned by the people who live in them. As development furthers, landlords will have 120 days to move their trailers off the property. Latah County Deputy Prosecutor Robin Eckmann said Mack is within his rights to evict tenants. Mack has to provide tenants with a written 90-day notice that indicates he doesn’t want to renew the lease agreement. He also doesn’t have to provide a reason for eviction. “I’m not aware of any law violations based on my knowledge of this,” Eckmann said. “I’m not aware of any illegal conduct.”

  A number of residents of the park recently sent letters to Latah County commissioners to voice their opposition to the future development. Residents of the park and owners of trailers declined to comment to the Daily News. Mack said he purchased the park with the best of intentions: to clean it up and provide a better living environment for tenants. “It’s an investment that I want to make. I think there’s a need for more family type housing out here,” he said. “What I’m trying to do will benefit everyone.”

  But Mack said the project has been frustrating because the park is located in the area of city impact. The 10,818-acre impact area surrounds the city of Moscow and is designated for future city growth. The city and county have been in negotiations for the last six months regarding how the area is to be governed. City codes will be enforced in the area, said Moscow Assistant City Planner Bill Belknap.

  Belknap said Mack went through the city process and his project has been recommended to the county for approval. The recommendation comes with some conditions. Mack must widen the internal roads of the park and provide a stormwater detention pond, Belknap said. “It went fairly well,” Belknap said of Mack’s discussions with the city. “It’s a pretty long process.”

  Mack said he feels he is being given the run-around by the city and county on what he can and cannot do on his property. “I’m trying to meet two entities of governing that have two vehicles of governing that don’t mesh,” Mack said. “I’m caught between two different things right now.”

  Mack had his first meeting with the county Tuesday. Commissioners and county planning and building officials will review Mack’s request. Also on Tuesday, Mack approached commissioners about leasing a 1-acre parcel of county-owned land. Mack would like to lease the parcel for $1 to meet city code and to increase the aesthetics of the park. The parcel is adjacent to the park, on the corner of Carmichael Road and the Troy Highway. Commissioners have not made a decision.

  The land, Mack said, would meet his requirements for a trailer park recreation area and provide visitors to the Latah Trail a place to rest. Mack said he would invest nearly $60,000 into the project for grass, trees and maintenance of the parcel. “We want this to be a nice park,” he said. “No matter what happens, if this is developed it would be a benefit to my tenants.” Mack has begun to build a new pump station and replace water mains to increase the water potability on the 5-acre park. The project has cost him more than $20,000.
   
  Mack said he intends to give both the landlords and residents ample warning to move out, but because of a stop and start work schedule, he can’t give them much more information. “We don’t have anything to tell them,” he said. “I would like to tell them (to leave) and get moving on this. They’re going to have to go sooner or later.”

  Clearing the trailer park may not be easy. Under city code, trailers built before 1976 must meet certain window, wiring and plumbing requirements before being moved. Mack said many of the trailers in his park are old and may pose problems. “I really don’t feel it’s my responsibility to take care of these people after they chose to move there,” he said. “But I’m sure some of them will figure out that it would be cheaper to leave their trailer. And at what point do people feel sorry for the landlord who has to move all their junk?”

  Regardless, Mack said he intends to go ahead with the development and finish the job. “We’re trying to fix these things, but we can’t do it with the trailers there,” he said. “Something has to be done one way or another, and I’d just as soon develop it than patch it up as it is. What we have now is a dilapidated park. I’m getting nickled and dimed out of this.”
   



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