City officials cite safety and long-term planning, but residents warn the proposal threatens affordable housing stability.
Angel Gurriel has lived at the Bell Mobile Home Park for 20 years. As a senior citizen, he moved there for its affordable housing and proximity to essential community services.
The Bell Mobile Home Park is one of two that may be closed by the city to make room for affordable senior housing, entertainment, and retail developments. Longtime residents like Gurriel told The Bulletin the project puts them at risk of being displaced and uncertain about where else to live.
“Everything around Los Angeles is expensive, it’s only getting worse because of how bad the economy is right now,” Gurriel told The Bulletin.
The Bell and Florence Village mobile parks contain a total of 400 residential units. Residents have attempted to organize against the city’s efforts to redevelop the area, which would force approximately 250 families to relocate.
The Bulletin contacted several Bell city officials to provide comments for this article. However, they referred any questions to public statements released over the past three months.
According to the Bell City Manager’s Office, the city wants to close the parks “to protect resident safety and support long-term land use planning and community reinvestment.”
Bell purchased the parks in 1995, according to a statement posted to its website. The city has not sold the parks, the statement read, but they “operate at a large deficit every year, putting a strain on financial resources to make any significant improvements to the parks.”
The infrastructure of the parks were not built to support permanent and increased long-term housing, according to the city. “As a result, there is severely insufficient and inadequate sewer lines, electrical panels, water lines and street/road construction.”
The “Relocation Plan” proposed by Bell would provide relocation assistance to residents for 42 months, but only those who can provide documentation proving they live at the parks prior to Mar. 26 of this year.
“As part of the process, residents are encouraged to meet with relocation specialists to review household and financial needs and with licensed appraisers to establish the fair market value of their homes,” the statement read.
The statement continued: “This is a difficult but necessary decision that reflects our commitment to a safer, more sustainable future for the community,” the statement read. “Once the plan is complete, it will be submitted to the City Council for review and consideration.”
Other residents who spoke to The Bulletin described the situation as “unaffordable,” saying they worry about losing access to nearby essentials—from doctors’ offices to grocery stores.
Javier Cruz, a 16-year resident of Florence Village, said the city has repeatedly “threatened” relocation, only to step back whenever residents resist.
“They threaten us and we push back and they leave and come back with the same plan,” Cruz said. “They have been doing that for 16 years.”
The city has encouraged residents to learn more about the plan by attending monthly meetings, which have been held since September. Loida Herrera, who has lived at Bell Mobile Home Park for 15 years, believes those meetings lack transparency and leave residents with more questions than answers.
“Those meetings don’t show transparency, it would be better if they build affordable housing and relocate us while it gets built and we get placed back here,” Herrera said. “Low-income housing isn’t even for low-income families, when rent is approximately $2,000.”
Another longtime resident, Diana Chavez, echoed Herrera, saying the current housing market in LA limits where she and her neighbors can live.
“Having one job isn’t enough in this economy, although our rent prices haven’t increased,” said Chavez, who has lived at the parks for 15 years. “Wherever they relocate us to, the rent prices are going to skyrocket.”
As the city moves forward with its planning process, residents say they can adapt to change but not to silence. Gurriel, the longtime Bell Mobile Home Park resident, said the real fear now is being left without answers.
“The issue is not being relocated because I understand that this park might not be suitable to have permanent housing,” Gurriel said. “The issue is that we aren’t getting a clear answer from the city, they should come with a clear plan on what they are trying to do here. At this point, it might look like we will live under the freeway.”