Tenants evicted
Trailer park residents given a year to vacate after land sold
Posted By COLIN MCKIM, THE PACKET AND TIMES
Posted 2 months ago
A widow who spent $50,000 enlarging and fixing up a dilapidated modular home near Lake St. John is facing expulsion and may not be able to recover a penny of her investment.
"All the work I did -- I'm so mad," said Caroline Baker, 64.
"This place was a complete mess. I spent a lot of money fixing it up."
Baker owns one of six permanently occupied trailer homes in My Land Marine and Recreation Park. Residents of all six units have been given one year to clear out.
She says she would not have spent all the money on improvements if she had known the land would be sold out from under her.
Aare and Christine Tamm, who have owned and operated the 10-acre trailer park on Rama Road for eight years, have sold the property. The deal closes April 30.
"It's a sad thing they have to move," said Christina Tamm.
But when you build on property you do not own, you take a risk, she said.
None of the residents had leases, she noted, but will be allowed to stay rent-free for their last year on the property.
Along with the six permanent residences bordering Rama Road, there are 75 seasonally occupied trailers strung along a network of muddy laneways on the property, which has 1,000 feet of frontage on Lake St. John.
The Tamms originally hoped to renovate the ramshackle property, but lacked the capital for a major facelift, Christina Tamm said.
"If we had the funds, we would have spruced up the park. We were thinking of a recreation centre, swimming pool, tennis courts..."
But as time passed, it only became more run down.
"It's a junkyard," Aare said.
"The land is worth something... the business, not."
The new owner wants the six permanent residents out so there are no obligations coming with the property, Aare said.
"With permanent residents you have to plow, keep the water system going. You have to be here."
The Tamms do not know exactly what the new owner plans to do with the property. It is zoned "destination commercial," which permits a hotel, resort, theme park and other tourist-related uses.
"They're eliminating six homes so somebody can have a holiday," said Baker's neighbour Dennis Edmonds, who is also facing expulsion from the property.
Edmonds, a long-time council critic, sold his home in Orillia and bought a trailer two down from Baker's about five years ago.
He estimates he has close to $55,000 invested.
Because of their age and the way they have settled on foundations, moving the trailers is not a realistic option, Edmonds said.
"We should get compensation or be allowed to stay."
Baker says her home costs about $260 a month including taxes. The park welcomes pets like her shih tzu, Cuddles, and is a great place for grandchildren to visit with a playground, boating and fishing.
She has been looking at apartments in Orillia and would have to pay $750 to $850 -- providing they allow pets.
"This is affordable housing," Edmonds said.
"We're very happy here."
Edmonds says the residents, which include a retired firefighter and a woman who is legally blind, will fight the eviction at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
They will also oppose any building applications at the township that eliminate their homes, Edmonds said.
cmckim@orillapacket.com
