- November 20, 2024
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The Bulow RV Resort has agreed not to evict residents until after July while the Flagler County government delays the code enforcement process that led the resort to threaten to remove residents whose sites contain unpermitted permanent structures.
The Equity Lifestyle Properties Bulow RV Resort, at 3345 Old Kings Road S., Flagler Beach, is home to a number of people who live there year-round. Many have added stick-built rooms, porches or sheds to their RVs or park model trailers, and some bought them with those structures attached.
But adding external, permanent structures to RVs isn't legal under county code or the RV park's rules, and the park's management has been telling residents for over a year to tear down the additions or face eviction.
You're passing the buck to the residents, is what's happening. ... It's not right. It's not fair."
— ANDY DANCE, Flagler County commissioner
Residents say the demands are unfair: Several of them bought their trailers from the park management itself with the illegal additions already in place, while others added the additions after receiving park management's express, written permission to do so.
They've spent sometimes tens of thousands of dollars on those upgrades, or, if the changes were made before they purchased the units, bought the homes for more than they would have without them. Now the park management that OK'd those changes is telling the residents to rip them all out.
"You're passing the buck to the residents, is what's happening," County Commissioner Andy Dance said to Stan Martin, a senior vice president in Equity Lifestyle Properties' legal department, during a Jan. 8 County Commission workshop. "It's now falling on their shoulders to make changes to things that have been allowed. It's not right. It's not fair."
The park's leases state that although residents may have a trailer or RV onsite all year, they may only occupy it for up to six months. But many people stay all year, one RV Resort resident told the County Commission, even though state law requires campgrounds to keep a register of their guests.
"Yes, we signed an agreement and yes, it is somewhat contradictory because it says you cannot occupy more than six months, but you sign an annual lease. You pay an annual fee," he said. "And nobody checks on how long you're staying there. Nobody."
The presence of year-round residents is a violation of the park property's development order, which states that the RVs may not be used as a permanent residence.
The Jan. 8 commission workshop, scheduled specifically for commissioners to discuss the RV park, was the first time a representative of the RV Resort itself has addressed the board.
Residents have appealed to the commission for help at previous meetings, asking the county to halt the code enforcement process so that the RV Resort's management wouldn't kick them out.
Flagler County Growth Management Director Adam Mengel opened the workshop with a slide presentation showing RV Resort units with connected additions like rooms and porches.
"Aesthetically, it's it looks good," he said, displaying a photo of one home, "but we don't know exactly what's happening here because it wasn't permitted."
About 50 structures are out of compliance, he said.
The county's code process is complaint-driven. The county began directing its attention at the park when a spat between two neighbors progressed to complaints to code enforcement, bringing in county inspectors.
The county's citations would be directed at the park's ownership, not the residents. But the owners would have to remove the residents' structures or evict the residents to stop the fines from accumulating.
If the county conducts individual site inspections to determine if the additions are up to code, Mengel said, it would likely find that many aren't — and the inspections themselves would be costly. If the additions didn't pass inspection, the residents would still have to remove them, which would make many of the RVs unlivable.
Commissioner Leann Pennington suggested the county look into halting the RV Resort's operations until it comes into compliance. She was concerned about the future of residents who could be forced out, she said, but she didn't see any way that the county could guarantee that the park's management wouldn't move forward with evictions if the county allows a stay of the code enforcement process.
"That's really hard, but I'm hearing that we cannot make decisions on anything that bothers us the most about this," she said. "We can't stop the evictions. We can't grandfather the properties, and we can't protect these people. We can't; our hands are tied now on this one."
Dance said that the residents who will need to leave might benefit from more time to find a new home.
Commissioner Donald O'Brien asked Martin if Bulow RV Resort would continue removing residents whose units are noncompliant if the county grants the RV Resort a stay in code enforcement action.
Martin agreed that the RV Resort would not kick people out for noncompliance during the stay period.
Dance asked Martin if the company would be willing to remove the noncompliant structures at its own cost, and reimburse residents for what they'd spent to add them, in cases where residents could show that they had received park approval before building them.
"If there are situations like that, we're happy to take a look at it, absolutely," Martin said.
Martin said a year and a half would be a good "runway" to resolve the code problems.
"We want to work with the guests. We have worked with the guests; many of them to come into compliance," he said.
Flagler County Deputy Attorney Sean Moylan suggested that county staff could work with Equity Lifestyle Properties to create an agreement on how the company would address the noncompliant properties. He noted that the county will have to ensure that the park enforces the requirement that people stay there only on a transient basis.
Commissioner David Sullivan said he didn't want to give the RV Resort more than six months.
Commissioners voted unanimously to grant a stay of code enforcement action at the Bulow RV Resort for six months, starting at the end of January.
