WESTMINSTER : Residents of Park Fear for Homes

Twenty years ago, Tony Bitonti would pick tomatoes across the street from his home on Bolsa Avenue. Four miles down the road he picked strawberries.

But times have changed in Westminster and on the Bolsa Corridor.

Development has brought economic growth, but it also is threatening the Mission Del Amo Mobile Home Park, where Tony Bitonti, 83, and his wife, Etta, 85, have lived for years in the self-contained community of mostly senior citizens.

A group of investors bought the property in April, 1990, and have recently informed the residents of the 217-coach park that they are considering redeveloping the area. They also have hired a consultant to examine how the land along Bolsa Avenue could be used and have distributed questionnaires to determine how conversion would affect the community.

Mobile home parks across the county are facing a similar fate, as developers buy up the increasingly valuable mobile home park properties. There are six mobile home parks within the Bolsa Corridor, and 18 within the city of Westminster.

At Mission Del Amo, the Bitontis and the other residents, many of whom thought the 25-acre park would be their final home, are unhappy with the thought of moving.

“It’s a very miserable situation,” says Tony Bitonti, who pays $350 a month for a coach space. “As the price of land goes up, everyone is vulnerable.”

Developers have not yet filed an application to convert Mission Del Amo, a process they must follow before they can begin development. Bolsa Del Amo Joint Venture, which owns the park, could not be reached for comment.

But residents are moving--or trying to move--from Mission Del Amo. Seventeen lots stand empty. “For Sale” signs are in dozens of coach windows.

A city ordinance requires that park owners find comparable housing when relocating residents and that park owners pay some restitution. But Bitonti argues that finding a park comparable in price and amenities, especially within the city, will be difficult if not impossible. Mission Del Amo offers a clubhouse for dinners and dancing, a library, pool hall, swimming pool, sauna and even a manual carwash.

“All parks are filled, some even have waiting lists,” Bitonti says. And according to the current conversion ordinance, the city can relocate residents up to 100 miles from the city. Most residents don’t want to move that far away.

Responding to park residents’ concerns, the Westminster City Council has been working with residents to revise the current ordinance and to ensure proper restitution.

In response to meetings with residents, Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer said that the council is proposing to increase moving time allowed and the moving payment. The city attorney is checking to ensure that the areas the council hopes to amend are not preempted by state law, Neugebauer said.

But Bitonti is unhappy with the way the council has handled their problem.

“We got lousy treatment by the City Council,” he says. “We got stabbed in the back, and they have not interceded.”

Park manager Bob Evans says that many of the residents are upset but that he is waiting until the park officially decides to redevelop before he starts worrying.

“I figure they will develop someday, but I don’t know when,” said Evans, 76, a park resident for nine years and manager for 2 1/2 years.