Trailer Park Residents Jubilant--They Own It

In what Mayor Robert F. Gentry called one of that city’s “most significant housing accomplishments” in years, a group of mobile home owners Friday officially became the proud owners of their trailer park.

“We recorded (Thursday) and we got confirmation this morning,” Sam Alessi, who spearheaded the drive to buy Thurston Trailer Park, said Friday. “We own the park, finally.”

The rustic community of 26 mobile homes and three small cottages is nudged against a hillside in Laguna Canyon. The city’s oldest and smallest mobile home facility, Thurston Trailer Park lacks amenities enjoyed by residents of the city’s two other parks, such as a clubhouse, swimming pool and ocean view. In fact, most of the residents who live in Thurston have incomes low enough to qualify for public assistance.

The residents’ success in closing the $1.5-million transaction can be traced to $650,000 in state funding granted by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Mobile Home Resident Ownership Program and a $150,000 loan from the city.

The City Council, which considers the mobile home parks crucial to maintaining the city’s affordable housing stock, has taken a number of measures to ensure their stability.

On Friday, Gentry compared the acquisition of Thurston Trailer Park by its residents to the city’s past efforts to provide housing for seniors and to the creation of Friendship Shelter, a temporary refuge for the homeless.

“It’s probably the most significant housing accomplishment that the city of Laguna Beach has done in several years,” Gentry said.

Now, Alessi said, it’s time to celebrate.

“Everybody is ecstatic for us,” he said. “We are going to have a celebration to thank all the City Council and we’re going to have people from the other parks. We just need to thank a lot of people.”