Families forced out of homes - KCTV5

Families are being forced out of their homes after the city condemned where they lived.

The city said it had to act quickly to condemn 12 mobile homes at the Riverview Trailer Park in Lawrence, and for one family, the timing couldn't be worse.

"The funds were low at the time. I just paid rent and took care of everything here and then to be put out on the street in four days," said Chris Grammer, after finding out his home was condemned.

The frustration could be heard in Grammer's voice after he came home late last week and found a sign on his trailer, thanks to a river of raw sewage running underneath his home.

"We went from having a place to live to having nothing, nowhere to go and no funds for moving," he said.

Grammer's wife Tracy, who works full time and is pregnant with the couple's sixth child, took on the task of finding a new home, with no help from the city.

"They didn't give me any resources, and I was left with no suggesting of what to do," said Tracy Grammer.

"We do understand the severity of the conditions sometimes makes people, in effect, homeless," said Brian Jimenez, a code enforcement manager for Lawrence.

Jimenez described the Riverview Trailer Park, located at Comfort Lane and Walnut Street in north Lawrence, as among the worst he has ever seen and lays the blame at the feet of the property owner, who lives in California.

"He had managers that never fulfilled their expectations of what property managers should do," said Jimenez.

Fortunately, the Grammers were able to find a house to rent and are now in the process of trying to come up with the first month's rent and deposit.

"As soon as we get that, we'll be in a place, and we'll be happy," said Tracy Grammer.

The code enforcement manager said he is now looking at legal options in regards to the future of the trailer park. By law, trailer parks should be licensed, and Riverview's license expired.

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