Midwest City property owner says city won't work with him

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – An out-of-state property owner says he’s at odds with the City of Midwest City over mobile home permits.

Without them, he says he’s losing out on thousands of dollars each month and families that need affordable housing options can’t rely on his community.

Justin Morales, the owner of the Riverside Community on Sable Street, said the mobile home community has been a viable part of the city for decades.

“We've brought in over thirty homes in the last couple years and we've definitely followed the rules and guidelines,” he said in a prior interview with KFOR.

According to Morales, a recent effort to bring in 10 additional homes started the problem.

“They won’t turn on our gas or electric which means we can't get the homes occupied,” he added, saying he’s missing out on at least $8-$10,000 a month because the homes can’t be resold or rented out.

Morales said his requests to appeal the decision were denied by the city.

"We’ve gone so far as to request a hearing which is in their code...that says if we get denied inspection that they have ten days for a hearing and we are 45-60 days past that ten day window," he said.

“They’re just electing not to follow their own rules and regulations. They think they're above the law even though it's their own law,” he continued.

Riverside’s property manager, Duana Newcomb, said many improvements have been made to the community and the goal is to put people in homes they can eventually buy.

But without those permits, she said there’s one less affordable option in an already tight housing market.

“I've sat at a signing table and cried with people as they've said. I never thought I could buy a house. That means a lot,” said Duana.

REPORTER: "Are they trying to push you out?"

DUANA: "I believe they are. I mean, there's been multiple times that we have heard we heard … Justin heard with his own ears The assistant city manager said maybe you need to not be part of Midwest City."

While housing around the metro is generally more affordable than the national average, according to real estate brokerage Redfin, median home sales in the area still hover around $254,000.

Midwest City attorney, Don Maisch, said MWC presented options for Mr. Morales to get Riverside into compliance with city requirements.

"Our chief building official went out, found seven of the ten were either wrecked, damaged or dilapidated and should not be within the mobile home park," he said, saying the repairs would need to be done outside of the physical location of the community, according to the city ordinances.

"That's what we have asked for them to do... repair them up to the current federal government requirements and then provide us that certification that they meet those requirements. And if they repaired up to those requirements, then they could be moved back in and be permitted. But until that is done, that was the position of the city," Maisch said.

Manufactured homes are constructed according to a code administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD Code).

"I'll be writing them back an email this week to let them know that we're going to put it on the put their six appeals on the January 23rd [Midwest] City Council agenda," Maisch added.

Morales is based in Colorado but said he does plan to attend the January council meeting to address the problems in person.

“If there is an issue, we want to address that with license[d] insurance contractors to make sure that's done properly,” said he said. “The sad thing is we just want our utilities turned on.”