Pines Trailer Park post-Helene timeline

BRADENTON BEACH – Here is a timeline of events that have transpired at the Pines Trailer Park since Hurricane Helene struck last fall.

2024

• On Sept. 26, storm surge from Hurricane Helene caused water intrusion into the 86 Pines Trailer Park mobile homes.
• On Oct. 17, city building officials said that FEMA guidelines re­lated to hurricane-related water intrusion would classify the properties as having major damage. Pines residents were told that FEMA regulations state that if the cost to repair a mobile home to its pre-storm state is 50% or more of the structure’s value, then the entire structure must be brought into current floodplain compliance. The city’s floodplain ordinance requires mobile homes to be elevated to 12 feet.
• On Oct. 29, fire code and setback regulations were outlined by West Manatee Fire Rescue District Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski, who stated that all new mobile home instal­lations must follow setback guidelines between structures.
• At a Nov. 7 Bradenton Beach city commission meeting, Pines Park Investors LLC manager Shawn Kaleta said, “The units obviously took on water. There are fire separation issues, there’s mold, there’s structural stabil­ity, there’s elevation of the buildings, there’s all these questions. I’ve made a commitment to the residents from our side to keep the park there whatever it can be inside the code. I think that’s a vital part of the community, having residents and having everybody in that community as it exists. I think it’s an important piece of the community to achieve that.”
• On Dec. 9, Pines residents received good news from then-City Building Official Darin Cushing when 83 of the 86 Pines Trailer Park owners received a notice from the city that they could repair their hurricane-damaged mobile homes with the proper permits. Some residents remained hesi­tant to move forward with repairs, however, saying questions about the Pines ownerships’ intent for the park were still unanswered.

“We previously provided you with a notice that your prop­erty may have been affected by flooding due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and that a second, more thorough inspection would be performed to gather data critical to making a formal determination as to whether the cost of repairs necessary to re­store your building to its pre-damage condition might rise to an amount constituting ‘substantial damage’ as defined in the City’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance 21-538,” Cushing’s letter stated. Following the results of that second inspection, and with a review of the data, as well as a review of the property values, repairs could be made with the applicable permits, according to the letter. “The data suggests that costs to perform repairs and restoration will not constitute a substantial damage repair,” Cush­ing’s letter stated.

• In early December, the parking lot for Pines Trailer Park residents at 201 First St. N. was converted into a public paid parking lot without notice to residents. Pines residents who required parking had paid $750 per year to park in the lot. A representative for Pines Park Investors LLC told The Sun that residents could continue to park in the lot until Dec. 31 and said a letter would be going out.

2025

• On Jan. 4, Pines Park Investors notified homeowners of their decision to close the park. The reasons given were financial chal­lenges, restoration and compliance, resident concerns and safety and long-term viability.
• In a Jan. 27 letter to the Pines Trailer Park HOA, park ownership offered to sell the mobile home park to the resi­dents for $75 million. Pines Park Investors LLC had purchased the 2.78-acre waterfront mobile home property on Aug. 5, 2023 from The Jackson Partnership LLLP for $16.25 million.
• The Pines Trailer Park Homeowners As­sociation filed a lawsuit on March 28 against park owners Pines Park Investors LLC asking in part for an injunction against the park closure and threatened evic­tions.
• Pines Park Investors LLC filed a motion for the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them in March by the Pines Trailer Park Homeowners Associa­tion. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Monday, July 28.

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