Residents and management representatives of Forest View Mobile Home Park in Blue Island agreed to meet late this week to discuss options for residents as the city demands the mobile park home be shut down.

A group of mobile home park residents, who rent their trailers or land, said Thursday they want to keep the park zoned as residential and find new management, but the city said the park is not zoned for residential purposes.

Some residents started receiving 5-day eviction notices and immediate possession orders July 12, and resident Joe Cervantes said the property management’s attorney said only 10 residential units out of more than 66 are up to date on rent payment and qualify for housing assistance, which residents protest.

Cervantes said he hopes to prove more residents have paid rent before the meeting. He said many residents told him they have proof they are up to date on rent or, if they haven’t paid, it’s because they don’t trust management.

“What the majority of the surveys have been saying is that (the park manager) has been taking cash from them and promising them that the trailer they moved into would get work done on it, and they moved into these crappy homes that probably should have never been moved into,” Cervantes said.

The planned meeting is part of a larger legal battle between the city and Forest View Mobile Home Park Inc., Mer-Car Corporation, Chicago Title Land Trust and Steven Dukatt, president Mer-Car Corporation.

The city sued the defendants in August 2024 after it issued the property 12 citations for violating city code, including unlawful operation of a mobile home park without a license, failure to have plumbing, electrical and heating installations in line with city code and failure to dispose garbage so that the park “has become a nuisance and menace to health.”The city also alleged its Police Department had been called to Forest View 184 times over a time period of about 5 1/2 months in 2024, for things like criminal damage to property, suicide and domestic violence.

The city also alleged the Fire Department has been called on 29 occasions to assist with fires, drug overdoses, medical traumas, domestic violence injuries, animal bites and other medical emergencies.

In April, both the property management and the city agreed in a consent decree that the citations would be dropped if management agreed to certain terms, but the city alleges management did not meet any of its terms by the June deadline.

Representatives for the property’s management agreed in the decree to remediate the property, including demolishing vacant mobile homes, relocating squatters, keeping the property buildings secure and maintaining waste disposal and lawn maintenance.

The management also agreed to market the property for sale to a purchaser that would use it for commercial or industrial purposes “more consistent with the current condition of the property and will facilitate the rehoming of trailer park residents” by June 3.

The decree also said management, at closing, would pay the city current water use charges, with a maximum amount due being $350,000.

The city returned to court in June, stating the defendants violated the decree, and a judge subsequently required management to respond to the city’s claims by Aug. 21.

Management was also ordered to pay the city $350,000, as stated in the consent decree, by July 17. Blue Island Administrator Thomas Wogan said the city received the payment.

Wogan said the property owners must take responsibility for a situation of their own making and pay the residents rehousing costs.

The involved parties are also now required to meet with the residents’ lawyer, which is also slated to occur this week. Wogan said Friday the meeting was still being scheduled.

“Nothing has been finalized but if the management and residents have a meeting and request the city’s presence, we will attend,” Wogan said.

Cervantes said Friday residents are “willing to do whatever they can” to have a voice in next steps and is working to gather residents to share their stories at the meeting.

“There are a lot of residents who are anxious to know what is going to happen next and who do we pay August rent to,” Cervantes said.