GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – In what locals call Dickinson, but what is actually an area of Galveston County under Texas City jurisdiction, dozens of families are being forced out of their homes.
The dilapidated state of the Green Villa Mobile Home Community is not up to code according to the City Fire Marshal and code enforcement officials.
Trash, debris, and belongings are strewn across the property, as the landlord has the task of clearing the land and abandoning the business.
Residents who cannot afford to move their homes, an undertaking that often costs many thousands of dollars, are simply abandoning them.
“I actually quit my job to make sure the city doesn’t take anything from my family, they put 30 years into this place,” Paxton Montalvo, the granddaughter of the landlord, said.
Montalvo said that she is concerned the city will take over demolition, and place a lien on her family’s property so she is here everyday, supervising the demolition process.
“The whole situation is just overwhelming,” Deborah Nigbur said, who has lived in the Green Villa community for more than two decades.
Nigbur said her daughter will now move the double-wide mobile home to another location in an unincorporated area of Galveston County, but she will be moving to Pennsylvania to stay with another daughter.
At least three other families are also staying as long as possible, knowing that their days appear to be numbered at Green Villa.