People living in a Bend neighborhood have raised concerns regarding living conditions and management practices within Romaine Village Manufactured Home Park. One individual, eager to see things change, started a petition attempting to advocate for a better living environment within the park.
The park is located in southwest Bend and has a total of 176 spaces, according to the Oregon manufactured dwelling park directory. The park also offers amenities, which residents said they pay for, such as a community pool and a recreation hall.
Jennifer Johnston has lived in RVMP since 2021. She created a petition on June 4 detailing a number of issues that she and other residents have experienced within the park. Johnston told the Source Weekly that she created the petition after repeatedly hearing similar concerns from neighbors.
“I finally was like, ‘something has to be done if no one’s helping these people,’” she said. “I felt like it’s time to finally speak up for the people that don’t feel like they can.”
After speaking with several neighbors and seeing other complaints on social media sites like NextDoor and Facebook, she compiled a list of the main issues people are experiencing.
Residents’ concerns
According to people who live at the park, rising rent prices coupled with a lack of neighborhood upkeep and maintenance has left many frustrated. According to Johnston, there have been major rent increases in the last three years, causing financial burden for residents.
“The lack of justification for this increase is particularly concerning,” said Johnston.
Johnston said she has also seen a lack of neighborhood maintenance and care, noting overgrown trees and limbs, a lack of adequate streetlights, deteriorating sidewalks and delayed fulfillments of maintenance requests.
Longtime Bend resident Casey McCarney doesn’t live in the park but told the Source Weekly that she has frequented the neighborhood for several years. “I know what it used to be in comparison to what it is now,” she said. She noted a lack of care from management.
Residents of RVMP are subject to HOA fees, which are intended to go toward park and amenity maintenance, upkeep and improvement.
According to Johnston, a single staff member handles all maintenance tasks for the park, from garbage collections to repairs. “It has become evident that the owner is not fulfilling these obligations,” said Johnston in the petition. “Essential maintenance and upkeep tasks remain neglected, leading to further deterioration of living conditions. This exploitation not only breaches the trust of the residents but also raises serious ethical and legal concerns.”
Residents also reported an inability to access park amenities. Johnston and another neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, told the Source Weekly that the community pool is often under maintenance, not allowing residents to use it.
Among a number of other detailed concerns, residents pointed to a lack of communication and professionalism from park management. When attempting to address issues with the park manager, Johnston said she and other neighbors are often ignored and met with a lack of action. Johnston noted that specific requests to speak with the park owners have been refused.
Other issues addressed in the petition include unsanitary waste management practices, water system issues and staff conduct.
The Source Weekly reached out to RVMP manager Alejandra Zuniga, who declined to comment.
A call to action
Johnston said the detailed petition, which as of June 11 had 62 signatures, is a call for accountability and change. She has contacted several government agencies, urging them to investigate these matters, including the Better Business Bureau, the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and local officials.
According to James Goff, the City of Bend’s Code Enforcement Manager, the City can only step in if there are violations of its development, building or municipal codes. Otherwise, it would likely qualify as a landlord and tenant dispute.
Johnston hopes to work with the authorities and park management to address the alleged issues and come up with some solutions. “I would like to create some change in these communities,” said Johnston.
This article appears in Source Weekly June 6, 2024.
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Just like when residents bring up concerns to the park manager, she refuses to comment. We pay monthly for space rent, yet the pool is not maintained, water valves are leaking on properties, lights are burnt out and I could go on and on but you get the point. The residents would like to speak with the owner about concerns and why our rent keeps increasing yet maintenance and upkeep is declining. Also, if surrounding areas are paying HOA fees to use a pool that should be exclusive to Romaine Village, why is there no regular cleaning and upkeep of the pool? It has been closed for a total of 63 days so far this year. It seems to me like the Owner , Philip Hoon, is capitalizing off of HOA dues for a profit with no accountability and combining surrounding neighborhoods into 1 HOA with no boundaries.
These residents need to keep the pressure on the owner, who obviously hasn’t maintained the park to an acceptable standard. I would be curious what the monthly HOA dues are and what type of budget is in place. If nothing changes then the next step is hiring an attorney to put legal pressure on the owner. The land that the park is on is worth a helluva lot more than the RV park? You have to wonder what the motivation is for the owner to not maintain the property!