ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – 8 On Your Side is following up on a story we reported on Monday night about how some residents of a mobile home park feel they’re being forced out of their Pinellas County homes.

The residents who live at The Gateway Mobile Home Park are grandparents, veterans, neighbors, and they want a fair resolution with the County. The management team said the compliance requirements being imposed on their residents are very challenging and unrealistic.

“As you can see my house, totally livable,” homeowner Brenda Tucker said. “There’s nothing wrong in here. There was never anything wrong. There was never any water in here.”
Yet Pinellas County deemed Tucker’s mobile home substantially damaged five months after the storms, and it sent her into a panic.

“They made me take pictures of all my cabinets,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with my cabinets. They were never taken out. They said they were taken out.”
It wasn’t only her cabinets. The county also said she replaced her AC unit for $9,000.
“They’re telling me I did all these things, which adds up to $28,000,” Tucker said. “I didn’t do any of that.”
Tucker received a letter from Pinellas County giving her four options to become in compliance, stating that by June 1, 2026, she must:

1. Elevate and repair her home
2. Replace her home with an elevated one
3. Move her home to a location outside of the flood hazard area
4. Move to a new home and remove her damaged home from the property

“I can’t do any of those,” said Tucker.

“The intention behind this is that a homeowner is not going to make a huge investment and then be subject to a repeat cycle of this in another two years,” said Kevin McAndrew, Pinellas county Building & Development Review Services director.
Tucker wasn’t the only one in the red.

In a statement to 8 On Your Side, the Gateway management team wrote:

More than 130 Gateway resident homes continue to be impacted by these “substantially damaged” determinations, which most often do not reflect the true condition of the homes or the significant efforts already made by residents to repair and maintain them. Not to mention that some of these residents who did have some damage received FEMA funds, fixed their homes and now are being told that they spent too much and that they are still considered substantially damaged.

McAndrew said the county performed additional analysis after its preliminary damage assessment.

“We reduced it from about 235 to about 135,” McAndrew said. “Of those 135, approximately 100 pursued the reassessment; that’s about 75%.”
McAndrew said the Gateway generally saw anywhere from 18 inches to 3 feet of water across the property, and the county is trying to protect the community from future harm. However, management at the Gateway said the county is also trying to protect its federal flood insurance program discounts, at the cost of its residents’ homes and livelihoods.
“We thought we were good probably till we died, and then this thing came in, and there was a storm absolutely, and some people did get a lot of damage, but I’m one that didn’t,” Tucker said.
Tucker retired at the age of 57 after a career in advertising in Illinois. She’s been living at the Gateway ever since on a fixed income.
“It seems like they’re wanting to get as many people out as they can,” she said.
“The county clearly recognizes the importance of the mobile home communities as part of the fabric of Pinellas County,” McAndrew said.
The Gateway said, “We call on Pinellas County to reconsider its approach and adopt a more reasonable and compassionate evaluation process. Our residents should not be forced out of their homes due to impractical demands or unfair assessments.”
“I love living here,” Tucker said. “We have a great time here. There’s a lot of camaraderie, a lot of friends here.”
Pinellas County received $813 million in community grants. Some of those who were deemed substantially damaged may be eligible. The county rollout will begin as soon as next month. Residents will need to apply on the website with application info once available: