South Reno Trailer Park Faces Deadline

Residents at Evergreen Trailer Park in south Reno were told on March 31 to leave by the end of April, giving dozens of households 30 days to move. (mynews4.com) News 4 reported the park was sold in September, and residents said letters sent then and again in November told them nothing would change. The abrupt deadline came months later. (mynews4.com) The park has housed low-income residents for years, including people on fixed incomes and disabled veterans. Resident Louis LePochat told News 4 he pays $500 a month and has heard comparable trailer park rents are now in the $700 range or higher. (mynews4.com) The land sits next to Tamarack Casino in south Reno, and Washoe County assessor records cited by News 4 show Valencia Delgado LLC owns the trailer park land, the neighboring Merry Wink Motel parcel and another nearby lot totaling just over three acres. (mynews4.com) Reno’s housing squeeze is the backdrop. The city said in February that it had supported 1,710 new affordable housing units and the rehabilitation of 1,192 existing units over the last five years, a sign of both recent building and continuing demand. (rgj.com) Northern Nevada Legal Aid says housing insecurity in Washoe County has been worsened by recent housing price increases, and that its lawyers handle eviction notices, mobile home sales and other housing disputes for lower-income residents. (nnlegalaid.org) Nevada law treats manufactured-home park cases separately from other evictions. Washoe County’s court says eviction timelines can range from 10 to 180 days depending on the notice, and that manufactured-home parks are governed in part by Chapter 118B of the Nevada Revised Statutes. (washoecounty.gov) That distinction matters at Evergreen because many residents own the trailers but rent the space underneath them. Moving a trailer can cost thousands of dollars, and older units may not be movable at all, which can leave residents searching for another pad, a buyer or both on a short clock. (washoecounty.gov; nnlegalaid.org) A separate south Reno project shows why land values are rising around the park. On April 6, the Reno Planning Commission approved a tentative map for 185 townhomes in south Reno as part of the larger Talus Valley project. (rgj.com) For Evergreen residents, the immediate deadline is still the end of April. Unless the move-out timeline changes, households that have spent years in one of south Reno’s cheapest parks must find a new place within days. (mynews4.com)