As the move to East Hills Estates began to sink in, Midfield residents received a letter on May 27, 2014 from the City of Calgary informing them the park would close on Sept. 30, 2017, and the plan to relocate them to a new mobile home park had been cancelled.
They would be eligible to receive a maximum of $10,000 to remove their mobile home from the property and a $10,000 tenant closure payment.
The decision was not taken well, especially by those who valued their homes between $50,000 - $100,000.
In addition, many expressed concerns that there wasn’t anywhere to move their homes as Calgary’s mobile home parks were at full capacity. Unless residents moved out of the city, they would have to destroy their home and take the $20,000.
In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said he believed the private sector would open new mobile home parks in Calgary in the next three years.
Some interest was expressed by Lansdowne Equity Development but no mobile home parks were ever built.
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CLOSING MIDFIELD
2014
Photo by Lexi Wright
In the early 2000s, the City of Calgary said they began to notice the deteriorating infrastructure.
A report was conducted by UMA Group in 2004 for the proposed cost of replacing the infrastructure. The entire system replacement would cost $6.4-million and an estimate on continuing repairs was said to be approximately $5-million.
The report read, “Complete replacement is the more expensive option by about 25% however it has certainty to it in terms of costs. In addition there will be 8 months or so of disruption during construction and, thereafter, the situation for the residents will be a lot more stable. The continuing repair approach will mean repairs about once a month in the early going increasing to repairs every two to three weeks in 25 years time.”
Because of the way the park was built, the eight months of disruption would have been a lot more than loud noises at six a.m. According to the City of Calgary, the water and sewer lines sit below the lots at Midfield, and so in order to replace the system, the houses would have to be removed in the process.
A year later, an information session for the Midfield tenants was held by Coun. Joe Ceci, who presented the condition of the water and sewer pipelines.
Around that time, the Calgary Herald reported there had been “about 40 water main breaks in 20 years” and that those breaks cost the city approximately “$40,000 each to repair.”
EARLY 2000s
FAILING INFRASTRUCTURE
2006
Photo by Thomas Bogda
In the summer of 2017 the city implemented more security.
According to their website, “As vacant lots become more commonplace with fewer ‘eyes on the street,’ security and safety becomes a concern.”
They put up a fence around the property and started 24/7 on-site security. Residents didn’t buy the city’s excuse and said it was a way for them to put the pressure on.
Former resident, Lori Sperling, said the security camera that had once pointed to Deerfoot was now looking directly at her home.
SURVEILLANCE OR SECURITY?
SUMMER 2017
Despite the outcry from Midfield, some argued that the city was not acting any worse than a private company would have done in the same situation. However, a similar situation did happen in 1993. Safeway wanted to build a shopping centre by the soon-to-be-developed Dalhousie LRT station, but a city owned mobile home park was already on the land.
“The city required that Safeway do right by those people and required that they build another place for them to go,” Midfield’s lawyer Mathew Farrell told us.
Safeway agreed to the conditions, purchasing the new Watergrove Park just west of Crowfoot Centre.
“That's the way that things shake out when a private individual or private corporation is in this situation,” said Farrell. “What happens when the landowner is the city is quite different.”
1993
PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE
Photo by Lexi Wright
In 2016, a petition was started by the residents of Midfield Mobile Home Park. The purpose stated on their website was to have the City of Calgary “honour their 2012 Go Forward Strategy commitment to build and move them to a new mobile home park, or, at the very least pay the Midfield homeowners a full replacement value buy-out.”
More than 2,170 people signed the petition and many left comments as to why:
A PETITION STARTS
2016
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On Jan. 4, 2012, city council voted to continue the Go Forward Strategy, which included the development of East Hills Estates - Midfield’s proposed new home.
The letter from the city read, “After many serious discussions and having reviewed all historical documentation, City Council decided to continue to develop East Hills Estates, located at 900 - 84 Street N.E., as a new location to accommodate the tenants in Midfield who choose to relocate there.”
Although the residents of Midfield were promised a place to move their homes, the location was far from ideal for many.
“There was nothing out there,” said Connie Brown, a former Midfield resident.
Midfield was in walking distance from a Co-op and in the centre of a busy city, but in comparison, the new location was east of the ring road - miles from any shopping or transit.
These concerns were expressed in private meetings with city representatives.
A NEW HOME?
2012
THE GO FORWARD STRATEGY
2007 - 2010
On April 23, 2007, residents received a letter from the City of Calgary informing them that pipeline repairs would continue on an ongoing basis until Midfield’s closure in approximately five years. It also said the Go Forward Strategy for Midfield tenants would soon be developed.
According to the City of Calgary’s website, ​in 2008, “Council directed Administration to acquire a site for a new mobile home park, conduct a detailed feasibility analysis, and initiate the redevelopment of Midfield following the closure and relocation of tenants.”
During this time the city said they froze the rents “to enable Midfield tenants with an opportunity to save money to pay for costs associated with their moves and finding alternative accommodations.”
The cherished home of the Midfield residents was scheduled to close, but for them, at least a new mobile home park was in the plans.
On March 1, 2010, residents got a letter from the City of Calgary’s project manager outlining what was discussed at a recent meeting:
“Registered tenants at Midfield Park will have the opportunity to move to a new mobile home park, which is to be completed by late spring 2012.
“The Midfield Mobile Home Park is scheduled to be closed in two and a half years during the summer of 2012, following completion of the new mobile home park.”
A new council was elected in 2010 and a year later they reevaluated the Go Forward Strategy.
In 2006, Coun. Joe Ceci presented six options to the Midfield residents in regards to the water and sewer pipelines. The options included continuing to repair park infrastructure on an ongoing basis, replacing the infrastructure, relocating Midfield to a new mobile home park, selling the park to the Midfield Cooperative Association, selling the park to a private owner or closing it down.
2006
SIX OPTIONS
THE
CONFLICT
Photo by Lexi Wright
1968 - 1969
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Midfield was built from 1968 - 1969 by Richfield Development Corporation on city-leased land.
In 1973, the operation and management of Midfield was given to the City of Calgary, and in 2001, Calgary Housing Company took over management.
The conflict between Midfield Mobile Home Park and the City of Calgary was long and messy. A deteriorating mobile home park on prime real estate. A close-knit community being forced to scatter. Decisions made on promises that were later broken.
The conflict began in the early 2000s. Some said the root of the problem ran down to the roots of the park itself - its failing water and sewer system. Others said the root of the problem ran deeper than the infrastructure. These people claimed the conflict was the result of a city council with a hunger for money and lack of compassion towards people who live in “trailer parks.”
Either way, the box of documents in the home of Midfield resident, Rudy Prediger, and a database of newspaper articles tells the story of a mobile home park that has stood on shaky ground for nearly 20 years.
Events that led up to the closure of Midfield Mobile Home Park
The Midfield Cooperative Association made an attempt to buy the park from the city. According to Prediger, him and Harvey Deary, previous head of the Midfield Cooperative, went down to Banker’s Hall with a plan to buy the land back in nine years. He said they were told they would need $6-million to buy the land.
“They figured we couldn't come up with a thousand dollars,” said Prediger. “They thought, you know, people live in a mobile home park, they got no money.”
The cooperative made a plan to put their rent together to pay off the mortgage. The proposal was sent to the City of Calgary, but they returned it with greater demands. In order to buy the property, residents would be “responsible for repairing the water main and sanitary sewer system and developing a new access road from Moncton Road,” according to a letter sent to the residents. Prediger said the city raised the price to $20-million.
“They knew we couldn't come up with that,” he said.
BUYING THE PARK
Photo by Amy Simpson
The city went quiet throughout 2013. Residents said they didn’t hear any new updates that year.
2013
SILENCE
In September 2017, campaigning for Calgary’s municipal election took off and Midfield residents put up Bill Smith signs in their yards. They hoped the candidate who promised to relook at developing the East Hills property would dethrone Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
The councillor candidate running for Ward 7, Dean Brawn, also took a platform on the Midfield conflict that opposed city council.
“I think it is appalling what the City of Calgary has done to the residents of Midfield Park,” he said.
After meeting with residents, Brawn said that he and his campaign manager, Mark Clad, found a law firm to take the case. Using his own personal money, some of their marketing budget and a Gofundme account, they hired Mathew Farrell from Guardian Law to represent Midfield in court.
“We are very well invested in this to try and do what is right for the tenants who are left,” he said.
On the other side, Mayor Nenshi answered questions about Midfield in an interview with the Sprawl.
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“Under the law we had to give one year’s notice and no compensation, and we said ‘that’s not good enough," he said.
"We are a government, not a heartless landlord.’ So we gave three years, we gave $10,000 cash compensation plus moving expenses, but more important than that, we committed to work with every single tenant to help them determine what was the right answer for them."
Nenshi also said he and Coun. Cara had an alternative plan, but said it was in-camera and he couldn't comment. However, the majority of council thought it wasn’t safe to leave the residents at Midfield any longer.
He also claimed there were no plans for the development of Midfield.
“That land will be developed eventually, we are not going to leave it as a vacant lot, but that’s not the plan now. There is no developer waiting in the wings. This is ultimately about people’s safety.”
A TENSE ELECTION
SEPT.—OCT. 2017
Photo by Jolene Rudisuela
Photo by Amy Simpson
The residents of Midfield Park went to court on Sept. 25, 2017 and delayed the closure date until a hearing could be held on Nov. 22, 2017. It was a small victory for the residents, but it was a victory.
Farrell, Midfield’s lawyer, told us he was first approached with a question as to whether Midfield even had a legal case, but as he started looking into it, he realized they did.
“You know your heart just kind of goes out to people,” he said.
“It seemed pretty clear to me that people were getting mistreated and what was happening wasn't fair.”
Farrell believes the city's actions have gone against the Mobile Home Sites Tenancy Act and is a human rights violation under section 15 of the Constitution.
In order to determine an action is in violation of section 15, Farrell says you have to prove four things: the group of people are being treated differently, they are a historically disadvantaged group and the differential treatments feel like a “slap in the face.”
“There's a fairly strong legal argument that the city has violated that provision of the Constitution,” he said.
DELAYED EVICTION
SEPTEMBER 2017
NOVEMBER 2017
NEARING THE END
On Nov. 6, the city updated their website saying 170 pads in the Midfield Mobile Home Park were currently vacant and 13 were occupied. Of the 13, approximately five residents were finalizing plans, one was currently involved in a court process and approximately seven had not yet come forward with a plan to move.
Photo by Amy Simpson
NOVEMBER 2017
THE HEARING
Past and present Midfield residents gathered in court to finally present the case for saving their home. Their lawyer, Mathew Farrell, gave the argument that the closure of the park by the City of Calgary and Calhome Properties Ltc. was invalid due to equality rights in section 15(1) of the Charter and a breach of the Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act.
In regards to the Charter, they argued that the city acted in bad faith, deliberately allowing the deterioration of the infrastructure to justify closing a vulnerable community that council disapproves of.
They sought monetary compensations for the loss of property due to the unconstitutional eviction.
In regards to the Mobile Home Sites Tenancy Act, they stated the city had no valid reason to close Midfield due to its lack of purpose for the land.
“You can only kick people out of their homes under that act for a certain specific reason, and the reason that was given in this case isn't one of them,” Farrell said in a previous interview.
If this was found to be true, the city would have to issue a new 365 notice period, as well as offer compensation for the destruction caused by the invalid notice.
“We're not asking for the moon here. You know we're not asking for millions of dollars and pain and suffering or anything else just that you got to treat people fairly when you take something from them. You know, compensate them according to its value, according to the value of the thing you destroy,” said Farrell.
The City of Calgary’s cross application stated they did not act in bad faith. They said all the requirements of the act had been filled and that they even offered relocation assistance in addition to what was required. The City also argued their actions did not breach the Charter because Mobile Home Park residents don’t qualify as a group that can be discriminated against.
Additionally, Calhome’s cross-application stated residents still in the park had breached tenancy agreements. They requested those residents would be ordered to pay any back-rent owing for the period of time and be required to leave in two weeks.
Midfield’s response to the City and Calhome, if they won, was that the residents would be granted until February to leave the park, as the Christmas season is not an ideal time to be uprooted.
The judge ordered that the final decision would be made on Dec 8, 2017.
Photo by Lexi Wright
OCTOBER 2017
ELECTION RESULTS
Despite the hopes of Midfield residents, Nenshi was re-elected as mayor on Oct. 16, 2017, and Brawn was beat out by Druh Farrell for councillor of Ward 7.