Beacon RV Park, located just east of the Ilwaco mooring basin on port property, has been a subject of litigation that is now resulting in compensation for past and present tenants.

ILWACO — The Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced this week that help is on the way for current and former tenants of a troubled Ilwaco RV park.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Sept. 23 that $400,000 in restitution had been mailed out to about 40 current and ex-tenants of the Beacon RV Park as part of a settlement that had been reached in Pacific County Superior Court earlier this year.

That settlement, which was signed off by Grays Harbor County Judge Katherine Svoboda on May 2, called for Beacon’s owners, Michael and Denise Werner, and their businesses to pay $1.18 million to the state over the AG’s office’s lawsuit for alleged violations of Washington landlord-tenant and consumer protection laws at the park in 2022. The agreement stipulated that hundreds of thousands of those dollars would go toward restitution for the tenants at the time of the violations.

Each tenant will receive a check for $10,000 and a letter from the AG’s office explaining the settlement. It was estimated this spring that 8-10 tenants still reside at the park, while the remainder had since relocated in and out of the area.

“This resolution gives significant relief to tenants — many of whom are elderly, disabled, low-income or veterans — and provides accountability for the park owners’ illegal conduct,” Ferguson said in a news release. “Washington law is clear: Mobile home landlords must deal fairly with their tenants. My office will continue to be a watchdog for Washingtonians.”

The Werners had previously been levied a $57,000 administrative fine for violations of the state’s manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act, and were court-ordered to provide $2,000 or actual relocation costs to affected tenants.

The married couple purchased Beacon on April 11, 2022 and intended to convert the usage of the park to only allowing short-term rentals, which requires tenants to be given at least one year’s notice. But the Werners began issuing eviction notices that February — before they assumed official ownership of the park and in conflict with state law — and on April 5 issued a utility shut-off notice.

A majority of Beacon’s tenants left the park in response to the notices, with some testifying that they feared for their safety and that their homes would be towed away or demolished by the Werners if they left the property. One resident testified that she feared having an eviction on her record that could prevent her from securing low-income housing in the future.

Granting partial summary judgment in favor of the AG’s office in December 2023, Svoboda ruled that the notices were unfair and deceptive, and in violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.

The settlement agreed to earlier this year bars the Werners from issuing eviction notices to tenants before they’ve actually closed on the purchase or sale of any property covered by landlord-tenant laws. The couple is also prohibited from issuing any notice threatening to shut off or restrict access to any tenant’s utilities, save for temporary interruptions for maintenance purposes, and from asking a service provider to cease or limit services to try and facilitate the removal of or retaliate against tenants.

The Werners are based in Vancouver, and own and operate dozens of mobile home and RV parks across the state. According to the AG’s office, about 4,000 people live in parks the couple owns.

Violations of the settlement by the Werners or their businesses can result in a court-enforced civil penalty of up to $125,000 per violation. The settlement also does not prevent the AG’s office from investigating other alleged MHLTA or consumer protection violations by the couple.

The AG’s office touted its Manufactured Housing Dispute Resolution program, which was created by the state Legislature in 2007 to help enforce landlord-tenant laws for manufactured and mobile homes and resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. The act applies to situations where the tenant owns their manufactured or mobile home, but rents the space the home sits on.

Both landlords and tenants can file complaints with the program, which serves as a neutral party and not as an advocate for either side. Landlord-tenant law directs the program to attempt to bring parties into compliance with the law prior to taking enforcement actions. Enforcement can include administrative measures and litigation.

In this case, 10 Beacon tenants filed 13 complaints through the program to bring issues at the park to light.