Neighborhood or a free-for-all?

SPANISH FORK — A natural disaster may not have struck Brenda Vaifo'ou's neighborhood, but scavengers appear when the sun goes down.

Vaifo'ou, her children and her grandchildren are the last of three families living in the Spanish Fork mobile-home park at 1000 North and 200 East. Allen Thomas, the park's owner, sold the land to Westfield Properties, which plans to build a commercial plaza on the site by 2009 on the condition that evicted tenants would be compensated.

Originally, the 16 tenants had to vacate the premise by Aug. 15. Most moved by that date. But Vaifo'ou and her two neighbors were unable to meet the deadline for various reasons, so the developer agreed to give them an extension until Oct. 31.

Though Vaifo'ou and her neighbors still reside on the lot, scroungers aren't discouraged from sweeping over the property. Vaifo'ou said they come often looking for cinder blocks, tire axles or anything else they can carry away.

Vaifo'ou said she feels like her neighborhood has been reduced to a "freak show."

"People comb through everything," she said. "Can't they wait until we're all gone?"

On Thursday, Vaifo'ou watched as a woman in a black SUV pulled up to the home of her neighbor and ask if her swing set was up for grabs.

"I thought, 'Lady, if you can afford that (car) you can afford a swing set,"' Vaifo'ou said.

Aside from the occasional distraction, Vaifo'ou said she and her family are about ready to leave the neighborhood she's called home for the past 22 years.

"I'm just waiting for the movers," she said.

Her neighbor, identified only as Cathy, is still unsure where she will move and expressed frustration.

"I don't want to go there," she said when asked about her moving preparations.

Vaifo'ou said they've been fortunate through the whole ordeal of moving. Their landlord convinced the developer to cover the cost of moving the mobile homes or purchase the ones that cannot move. Vaifo'ou managed to find a double-wide trailer in Provo where she works. Overall, she said she's optimistic, except for the fact that she's leaving her home.

The property looks "kinda trashy," Vaifo'ou said as she looked over the vacant lots, dotted with old tires, scrap wood and abandoned stuffed animals. But she said she mostly feels empty as she remembers the times at night when neighbors would gather out on the gravel road and exchange news.

"It's weird to look and see that everyone else is gone," she said.

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E-mail: jdana@desnews.com