from Axios Cleveland: Euclid Beach residents face “mass displacement”

The following is coverage from Axios Cleveland about the potential displacement of Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park residents.  Click here to read the Legal Aid statement prepared for the February 13 news conference.

By Sam Allard

Residents of Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park say that ever since Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) bought the 28-acre Collinwood property in 2021, their concerns have been marginalized or ignored.

• Now, they're facing "mass displacement."

Driving the news: WRLC announced at a community meeting last week its plans to close the mobile home park and create a "unified greenspace" at Euclid Beach. Residents will have 12-15 months to move.

• A major public lakefront park could do for community development on the east side, WRLC says, what Edgewater Park has done on the west.

Why it matters: The community includes 139 occupied mobile homes, with many residents on fixed incomes or with disabilities.

• It's a rare enclave in the city where seniors and working low-income folks – who make too much for public assistance but not enough to afford the area's median rent – can rent or own their homes.

What they're saying: At a press conference Monday, Mike Russell, senior attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cleveland, stressed that residents do not want to move.

• "Ultimately, this is not a transactional conversation about land," he said. "It is a transformational conversation about homes."

Of note: Though the trailers on the property are called "mobile homes," they are not actually mobile, with concrete foundations, decks, patios, landscaping, etc.

Between the lines: Residents accused WRLC of "gaslighting" them from the start and said they believed the plan had always been to convert the area to greenspace.

• "No one spends $5.8 million for a piece of property without knowing what they're going to do with it," one resident said.

The other side: Matt Zone, WRLC's vice president and director of its urban initiatives, said the organization's first priority was the "fair and equitable" treatment of residents.

• "We recognize how disruptive this entire process is, and are doing our best to manage the property and respond to any tenant concerns," he told Axios in a statement.

What's next: WRLC says it has convened a housing steering committee and is working with residents individually to connect them to services and "alternative housing options."

The bottom line: "Euclid Beach is truly our family and home," said resident Brochelle Baker. "We're not going down without a fight."

Source: Axios Cleveland - Euclid Beach residents face "mass displacement"