On the Carlton Mobile Home Park Agreement

August 10, 2024

The Charlottesville Democratic Socialists of America applaud the purchase agreement negotiated by Carlton Mobile Home Park residents, Charlottesville City Council, Habitat for Humanity, Piedmont Housing Alliance, and the Bolton family to preserve deeply affordable housing and redevelop Carlton Mobile Home Park.

This settlement would have never been possible without community-led collective action. 

Members of our chapter mobilized at the news of the pending sale of the park to a private developer immediately and, together with Legal Aid Justice Center, Sin Barreras, and Habitat for Humanity, ensured that every single one of our neighbors at Carlton were empowered to fight for their homes and the preservation of their long-standing community. We also organized to spread awareness of the issue and encourage residents to call on Council to broker a deal with community housing partners.

Together, we won. With an agreement now in place, our neighbors can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they can remain in their homes and in their community.

We believe that housing is a human right and that everyone deserves a permanent, affordable, and climate-resilient place to live. Stable housing should not depend on the whims of developers who are driven by profit. Capitalist markets have caused the housing crisis that exists locally and nationwide.

The real solution to the crisis exists outside of these markets and outside the hands of private entities who are only driven to enrich themselves and their shareholders. We should seize every opportunity to democratize affordable housing and redevelopment, centering resident-led solutions. Public control of resources and mass organizing towards solutions that prioritize people, not profit, will lead the way to a brighter tomorrow. We will continue the struggle and welcome everyone who seeks housing justice to join us.

Special thanks to: Michael Payne (City Councilor, Cville DSA member); Emily Dreyfus (Legal Aid Justice Center); Dan Rosensweig (Habitat for Humanity); Sunshine Mathon (Piedmont Housing Alliance); Erin O’Hare (Charlottesville Tomorrow); and, foremost, the residents of Carlton Mobile Home Park for fighting for their neighborhood.