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Residents of Advance Mobile Home Park ask Commerce City for help; council orders legal review of funding options
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Summary
Residents and advocacy groups urged Commerce City to help finance a resident purchase after Advance Mobile Home Park listed for $11M; council unanimously directed the city attorney to research whether Colorado law allows city funds to assist homeowners and asked staff to meet with residents.
Residents of Advance Mobile Home Park and their attorney told the Commerce City Council that the 73‑lot park at 7700 Highway 2 is listed for $11,000,000, a sale that could displace long‑term residents unless gap financing is found.
Carol Kennedy of the Colorado Poverty Law Project said state law gives residents 120 days to submit a purchase offer and that, while the residents may qualify for a roughly $7.3 million loan through Thistle Community Housing, they still face a $3.7 million shortfall. “Purchasing their park would mean that the residents would own the land underneath their homes and preserve their park as affordable housing into the future,” Kennedy said.
Several residents, speaking in English and Spanish, described decades of residency and argued that moving would be unaffordable. Gustavo Olivas said he has lived in the community 10 years and that a forced move would make life “unaffordable” for his family.
Councilmembers expressed sympathy but also caution about precedent and legal constraints. Council member Kim moved to direct the city manager and staff to explore the feasibility and permissibility of using city funds — including possible coordination with Proposition 1‑23 funding — to assist the residents. The motion was amended and narrowed after discussion: the council unanimously approved a motion directing the city attorney to explore whether Colorado law permits the city to expend city funds to assist Advance Mobile Home Park homeowners, and staff said they would meet with the residents to better understand the financing they are pursuing.
City Manager Amanda Rogers said staff can meet with the residents and report back but warned any program to underwrite private purchases raises complex fiduciary and precedent questions. City Attorney Zarzecke said the foundational legal question about permissibility can be answered quickly but that crafting any program would require more extensive work.
The council did not commit dollars. Instead it ordered a legal memo and follow‑up staff engagement to identify options and constraints and told residents the city would return with additional information as available.
