In 2018 the Westbury Mobile Home Park was put up for sale. Thankfully the Vermont law 10 VSA 6242 allowed the residents to compete with developers to buy the park. This led to the formation of the Westbury Co-op. The formation of the Co-op and purchase of the park was made possible with the help of Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), a regional non-profit founded in 1994 and Resident Owned Communities (ROC), an organization founded in 2008. CDI focuses on fostering democratically owned cooperative enterprises in the Northeast. ROC’s mission is to make resident ownership of manufactured home communities more accessible and to increase economic opportunities for homeowners in these communities. The Co-op, a Limited Equity Co-op under 11 V.S.A. § 1598, operates differently from other co-ops and HOAs, focusing on maintaining affordable housing and services for the residents. 

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Because the Co-op was competing with land developers, it was forced to purchase the park for three times its assessed value- approximately $8 million more than what the Town said it was worth as a mobile home community. This left the Co-op with limited reserves for future improvements and services. To remain a working-class community in the Town of Colchester, it’s important to complete the process started by Vermont Law 10 VSA 6242 and become a public neighborhood so that its resident have the rights and responsibilities of other residents in Colchester. 

 

If the Town of Colchester could not take on the responsibility of providing services and infrastructure, like they do in other parts of town, the community of Westbury understood they would need to find an alternative solution. The creation of an incorporated village was chosen as a village would allow for a more sustainable structure to manage services, including water, roads, and waste systems, with the resources and support available to municipalities than the Co-op.  

  

Currently, the Co-op manages services that are typically handled by municipalities, including utilities, which places a financial burden on the residents. By establishing a village it would allow the public entity to take on these services which will reduce the costs for the Co-op and ensure better management and reinvestment into the public infrastructure owned by the village. This would benefit both the residents of Westbury and the Town of Colchester and set up the area of Westbury for a solid financial future.