Residents scramble as Vernon trailer park faces power and water shut off

A Vernon trailer park left in disrepair will soon have its power cut, leaving residents to either scramble for a new home, or live without power and running water.

Pad rentals at Crown Villa Mobile Home Park have been stagnant for years and while the owner thought she was doing residents a favour, she told government investigators it left her without the funds to repair its failing electrical equipment.

Now, residents who own their mobile homes will be forced to abandon them or live there after BC Hydro cuts off electricity, which also powers the pumps for Crown Villa’s well water.

“Unless the city is going to try to tear us out of our homes that we own, there are people who are going to try living here off-grid because they have nowhere else to go,” resident Michelle Hallas told iNFOnews.ca.

Hallas has lived at Crown Villa since buying a mobile home in 2001. She lives with her partner and two children. They can’t move or sell the mobile home, so she had been hoping the landlord or a government agency would fix the failing electrical system.

“I guess I had hoped some other system might be in place where the city could come do it, then maybe put a lien against her property or put the property in receivership, so somebody else takes control,” Hallas said.

It’s not first time the owner of the mobile home park has had difficulties. When Carolyn Goldstone didn’t replace an ageing septic system, Interior Health had it done and sent her the bill.

Hallas reached out to the City of Vernon and provincial officials to have the electrical system fixed, but none have said they would help.

“In the last few weeks we’ve started to realize nobody’s going to step in and rescue us like Interior Health did in 2023,” she said.

Because it’s on private property, Hallas knows residents are one their own, but she said they are caught in a “grey area” while owning their homes and renting the pad they are on.

She’s looking for a new place to rent and while some other residents have found new homes, others are committed to staying there even after the power is cut, April 10.

“Most of the residents are going to try sticking it out to stay and run on batteries or generators and haul in water. A lot of them have no where else to go or can’t afford to rent,” she said. “These are seniors and low-income families. It’s very sad.”

Goldstone was fined $55,000 by the province’s rental regulator, and Technical Safety BC said she had until April 10 to repair the failing electrical system or it will be cut off.

The city said staff are in contact with the non-profit Social Planning Council regarding supports for affected residents.