No evictions at Citrus Park in Vero Beach; residents shouldn't get complacent | Opinion

Even after 40-plus years as a journalist, almost nothing surprises me.

I admit, though, the call I received late Thursday from Vero Beach City Manager Monte Falls was way beyond anything I expected.

I’d spent about two weeks reporting on the plight of about 70 renters in the city’s Citrus Park Village manufactured home community facing eviction, based on apparent threats from the Federal Aviation Administration. The federal agency warned in a 2021 letter that having non-aviation-related residences at the airport violated contract terms for $32.2 million worth of federal grants the city received since 1983.

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The park is on the far south side of the airport, wedged between the north bank of the Main Relief Canal and Walking Tree Brewery, east of 34th Avenue/Airport Drive.

After subsequent meetings and correspondence with the FAA, the city concluded it had no choice but to evict the working-class residents. Otherwise, it would have to return the funds used for improvements and be ineligible for future grants.

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As part of my reporting, I called George Cecala, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who said someone, but not from City Hall, contacted the congressman’s office. By Oct. 12, Falls had called Posey, and Cecala had read a column of mine on the issue — I labeled government’s action “inhumane” and “offensive” — and had sent it to the House Aviation Subcommittee.

The next afternoon, Falls said Steven Hicks, director for the FAA’s Office Of Airports Southern Region, asked to meet with city officials. Hicks seemed surprised the city — in a corrective action plan letter sent Oct. 11, but not due to the FAA until Oct. 28 — planned to remove residents rather than just transfer the park from airport property to the city.

“When the director said there was an option, I stopped talking and started listening,” Falls told me. “I’m surprised it happened so quickly.”

Falls credited media coverage and support from the offices of Posey and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

“I think once it got out there in the public, people started to call,” said Falls, a couple of days after one of my columns accused the city of throwing its renters under the proverbial jet. “I’m pleased the way it worked out. I’ll take a win any way you can get one.

“(Initially), it just didn’t sit well with me,” Falls said of the eviction option and fact Vero Beach seemed to be singled out. “We didn’t know what we were up against. It’s great to deliver some good news to residents.”

On Monday, the FAA briefed members of Posey's and Scott's office and the subcommittee on the issue, Cecala said. The FAA said it learned of the manufactured homes when its Office of Civil Rights toured the airport. The FAA's strongly worded letters to the city might have been misconstrued, Cecala added.

"Their intent was not to throw all the people out," Cecala said the FAA reported on Monday.

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Residents would have been crushed

I was excited when I heard the news. Many residents could not have financially survived the city’s corrective action plan, which included paying renters a measly $2,750 to $3,750 to move manufactured homes owned by the renters.

Many would find no place to move their homes or anywhere comparable to $200 a month some pay for rent.

Manufactured home parks can be lucrative for owners receiving rent payments every month. But, like all things, park owners must pay to maintain their investments.

While all seems hunky dory now, the reality is park residents' futures are — and have been — at the whim of politicians.

In 2016, the city airport’s master plan cited the mobile home park as a possible location to “relieve the land constrained” airport commercial village (retail and service uses) and aviation cores “in the future.”

Since 2020, however, airport staff have viewed the park was a solid source of income — and a valuable public asset, according to Todd Scher, the city's airport director.

But times change. In 1984, there were 16 mobile homes on 13 acres — known as Citrus Park West — across 34th Avenue/Airport Drive.

Vero Beach council meeting minutes show that in 1984, the city began discussing the idea of selling or renting the land for a better use. For more than two years, the city looked into where residents could go or if it made sense to build another manufactured housing park.

Residents pleaded not to be displaced, hiring attorney Charles Sullivan Jr. and engaging manufactured housing leaders from around the state.

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In September 1987, council voted to give residents a year’s notice to leave and seek appraisals to buy, move or pay to move residents.

By April 1989, the homes were gone and the Los Angeles Dodgers began negotiating with the city to buy the former west park for additional baseball fields. Eventually, the Dodgers and city reached a deal, making a land trade for citrus groves north of 26th Street, on both sides of Flight Safety Drive.

So could future city officials have a different take on Citrus Park Village?

Last week I called it one of Vero Beach’s best-kept secrets. At more than 50 years old,  the park, with newer homes and older ones needing TLC, has a nice layout. Children feel safe playing outside. A diverse group of neighbors seem to get along well.

All is good for now. But residents of the park should never take anything for granted. They must remain vigilant, lest someone see a greater economic opportunity in that hidden part of the city.

This column reflects the opinion of Laurence Reisman. Contact him via email at larry.reisman@tcpalm.com, phone at 772-978-2223, Facebook.com/larryreisman or Twitter @LaurenceReisman

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: FAA OK with Vero Beach renters staying; what's next in park? | Opinion