ELY – District Court Judge Gary J. Pagliaccetti issued a summary judgment last week declaring that the owner of the Northern Terrace manufactured home park near Vermilion Community College has not provided a park closing notice required by Minnesota statutes and therefore may not close the park or evict remaining residents until a proper closure notice has been provided.

Representing some Northern Terrace Mobile Home Park residents looking to halt or delay the Dec. 22 closing, Jack Cann, attorney for Housing Preservation Project in St. Paul, filed a lawsuit Oct. 10 in St. Louis County District Court alleging that legal requirements for closing the facility had not been met.

“The closure notice was not legal,” he said. “They did not meet the guidelines in the statute and at the very least we were looking for a new closure statement and another nine months.”

In part, the judgment states, “At least nine months prior to the closure of the park, the Defendant was statutorily required to prepare and provide a closure statement. That statement must include information regarding the availability, location and potential costs of adequate replacement housing in a 25-mile radius of the park and probable relocation costs of the manufactured home located in the park.

“Defendant did not provide this information. Defendant offers no argument or evidence to the contrary. Because there is no dispute as to any material fact on this issue, the Court finds in favor of Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.”

The original letter of intent to close was issued in March with the end date of Dec. 22. That letter of intent to close triggered a public hearing in May.

The new judgment means that another letter of intent of closure will need to be issued and a new public hearing will need to be scheduled. It also means that the residents of Northern Terrace will be able to spend Christmas in their current dwellings.

Valerie Hansen, a member of the family investment group doing business as Chalet Investments LLC, said her company bought the property a year ago with the intent to turn it into an RV Park. “We purchased it with the intent to convert the trailer park and rehabilitate the property,” she said, “which would bring multiple permanent full time and part time jobs to Ely.”

Hansen said last fall, “We are proposing a positive change to Ely, that would bring jobs, and cater to larger recreational vehicles, which most RV parks can’t accommodate at this point. We would have larger sites and more of them.” She explained that currently the property has 48 sites, and she would like to expand to 60.

“We have a 20-acre parcel, and currently only five acres are being used,” she said. “We plan to keep the forested area, just develop the open grassy area. We are looking at seasonal rentals in the winter, then time-limited rentals in the summer for up to 10 days.”

City of Ely officials have said that there is not much to be done about a private company making decisions about land it owns. “The landowner notified us they are closing the park,” said then Ely Clerk-Treasurer Terry Lowell. “They are not obligated to tell the city what they doing with the land.”