Many of the residents are disabled, said Emr's wife Jessica, such as her uncle, who's also a veteran.
"We love the park. It's a beautiful nature atmosphere," said Jessica. "The neighbors are our friends, not just our neighbors."
Residents in the RV lot pay $400 a month plus utilities. Many said their RV's are inoperable, so they can't move to another lot.
Attorney Christine Allamanno with Gulf Legal Services said city officials waved their hands when previously asked what will happen to the residents, declaring the land is private property. But she said they've continued to make the developer's job easy by waiving impact fees and declaring the park a brownfield area, a designation that provides businesses access to incentives like tax credits, loan guarantees, and liability protection.
When nearby homeowner associations complained about the new proposal to create the apartment units, the property owner agreed to work with them.
Allamanno said the only people not getting redress are the residents.
"The people left out of the conversation were the people who actually live in the park, some of them lived here for 10 years. They say their homes cannot be moved," the attorney said. "They're mostly disabled people, they're living on disability. They're living on Social Security. They're some veterans in the park. There is no where for them to go."
Allamanno said traditionally, when residents in Pinellas County are being removed from an area for private development, the city requires that the developer find housing for those being displaced. She said that's not the situation at Briarwood.
Christina Twist has lived at Briarwood for 10 years. She said this isn't the first time that she and her neighbors have been threatened with eviction, but it's the most serious case.
"We might become homeless," she fretted. "We live in a trailer that we think is not movable."
There are still steps to go through before the residents are left with no option. The issue will ultimately need to go before the Pinellas County Commission, and Swiftmud will also have a chance to weigh in since there are designated wetlands on the property.
