Residents of an Evanston mobile home park say they're paying more every year to live on property that appears to be getting less attention from its owners.
At South Park Village Mobile Home Park, residents say annual rent increases have become predictable. So have the potholes, neglected lots and snow-covered streets that they say make living there increasingly frustrating.
“Nothing has been fixed,” one resident said. “If we're expected to pay more every single year, why is it unreasonable for us to expect the property to actually be maintained?”
Residents with whom Cowboy State Daily spoke for this story requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
The same resident said the complaints aren't about wanting a nicer place to live. They're about wanting the basics.
“We're not asking for luxury amenities. We're asking for roads that don't destroy our vehicles and streets that actually get plowed in the winter,” the resident said.
Residents who spoke with Cowboy State Daily described a pattern of increasing rents without corresponding improvements to the property.
Ammie Proctor, director of Saddleback Communities, which owns the Evanston trailer park, did not respond to Cowboy State Daily's request for comment. Jennyfer Toepfer, who South Park residents say communicates with them directly about property issues, also did not respond to questions before publication.
Paying More, Getting Less
One resident who has lived at South Park Village since 2022 said her rent has increased by $30 a month every year.
Each increase, she said, comes with an explanation about rising maintenance costs, improvements and insurance costs.
But she said she hasn't seen the improvements.
“They always say that they're raising rent due to maintenance, improvements and insurance even though we have horrible potholes,” she said.
The resident said the park's roads are rarely, if ever, plowed during the winter, leaving residents to navigate snow and ice on their own.
She said the only road that gets cleared is one a neighboring homeowner plows to maintain access to a barn.
Maintenance concerns extend beyond the roads.
The resident said she has taken it upon herself to mow and water a vacant lot next to her home, even though she doesn't rent the property.
She began maintaining the lot after watching it be neglected during her first year at the park. Eventually, she said, people began associating the overgrown property with her home.
But her concerns go beyond appearances.
She said the tall, dry vegetation could become a fire hazard, particularly because people living on the other side of the vacant lot smoke cigarettes.
“I don't want to risk them dropping a cigarette butt and that lot going up in flames and then my house burning,” she said.
Surprise Charges
For one of South Park Village's newest residents, the frustration began almost immediately.
The woman, who moved into the park three months ago, said she was quoted about $1,150 a month to rent both a mobile home and the lot beneath it.
But when her first bill arrived, the amount was $1,230.
“Not at all what (South Park) said it would be,” she told Cowboy State Daily.
Now, just months after moving in, she's facing another increase.
Beginning in January 2027, her monthly rent will go up another $22, she said.
“If they're raising rent this quickly, it makes me wonder if this is where I want to be,” she said.
She said she was surprised by how poorly maintained the park appeared to be, particularly given the rent increases.
She also described additional frustrations with the way rent is collected.
According to the resident, South Park Village charges a $25 convenience fee for paying rent online, which she said is the only payment method the park accepts.
She also said reaching someone at the park's office can be difficult.
For a resident already paying more than she expected, the additional charges and lack of communication have only added to her concerns.
Who Is Responsible?
While residents question why their rent keeps increasing without visible improvements, the city of Evanston said responsibility for maintaining the park's roads belongs to the property owner, not the city.
Damon Newsome, director of Evanston's Engineering and Planning Department, told Cowboy State Daily in an email that his office was not aware of any complaints about conditions at South Park Village.
He confirmed that road maintenance within the mobile home park is the park's responsibility.
South Park Village was established in 1982, Newsome said.
Mobile home parks in Evanston are regulated by code, he added. City ordinance requires roadways within mobile home parks to be paved according to city standards and specifications.
Contact Kate Meadows at kate@cowboystatedaily.com
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
