Perch Point residents told to move homes

Land permit enforced after county sues resort

MOSES LAKE - Seventeen people have a year to find new land and haul their aging mobile homes from Perch Point Resort.

The residents, including the elderly, disabled and those living on Social Security, recently learned the news officially in a reissued written notice from the resort's owner dated March 21.

The notice follows problems with the property that started about five years ago.

The issues involve a lawsuit about sewage problems at the resort and a second lawsuit filed by Grant County over the enforcement of the property's conditional use permit, said Steve Hallstrom, a Grant County chief deputy prosecutor.

The property is only allowed to be used as a seasonal resort, not a place for permanent residents, according to the 39-year-old permit.

Hallstrom said the county believes the resort was run more like a mobile home park than an RV park.

The county wants to protect the public's safety, health and welfare and only filed the lawsuit to ensure the resort was following the instructions of the permit, he explained.

But full-time residents Ray Boggs, 76, his roommate Ernest Bisson, 67 and another resident, Pat Rinker, 74, claim they weren't aware of the permit.

They said they wouldn't have moved there if they knew they would have to pack up and move again.

A hearing about the permit was held in 2003 and many residents attended, Hallstrom said.

Boggs and Bisson moved to the resort in 2004 and Rinker arrived there about two or three years ago.

"We thought we would be living here for the rest of our lives," Boggs said.

Boggs said he contacted the state Attorney General's Office and Gov. Chris Gregoire's office for help.

"I don't think it's right and I don't think it's legal," Bisson said.

He claimed a move would bankrupt him.

"We should have been forewarned," Bisson added.

Rinker said many mobile home parks don't want to accept mobile homes more than 10 years old, which makes it difficult for her and other residents to move.

The residents were informed by resort management of financial help available to move their trailers from the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.

But a notice posted on CTED's Web site says the large number of mobile homes closing in the state is causing a delay in reimbursements.

CTED is unable to estimate how long the reimbursement process will take, the notice states.

Resort managing member Linda Tanferani-Jackson first heard of the conditional use permit in 2003 and the permit didn't appear on any land title reports, said her Moses Lake attorney Ted Vanden Bosch.

"That was the first she learned of it," he said.

Tenants first received notice in September but the notices had to be reissued in March because the state didn't receive notice, Vanden Bosch said.

"We're trying to be fair with them," he said.

Tanferani-Jackson said in a voice mail on Tuesday she feels she's "doing my very best" to get her residents help from the state.

Grant County and Tanferani-Jackson are still involved in settlement discussions to resolve the lawsuit, Hallstrom said.

He also said the county has received calls from people asking about the status of the lawsuit because they were interested in buying the property.

A "for sale" sign was posted at the resort on Tuesday.