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Having the residents pay for sewage and water is fair, adds Sprengle. "It's a more equitable sharing of the costs," he says. "People are paying for what they use. Our experience is that water consumption goes down by 30 percent after meters are installed. When it's part of the rent, people aren't as careful." (In one indication of its sensitivity to criticism, ARC even has a list of tenants who will publicly praise the company.)

Ron Edmondson, senior vice president for the Rocky Mountain region of Zell's MHC, says rents in mobile-home parks have not risen any faster than apartment rents in the metro area. "Our industry is market-driven," says Edmondson, echoing Sprengle's sentiments. "When you compare how apartments have escalated, our product is still very competitive."

The picketers at Holiday Hills are part of a "vocal minority" of tenants, he claims. "We've been approached by a lot of residents who want to voice their support for us."

Nor has Holiday Hills ever pressured older residents to leave, says Edmondson. He describes Holiday Hills as MHC's "flagship community" in Colorado and says many residents support the company's effort to upgrade the homes in the park. "If we didn't set a high standard, you'd find residents not maintaining the pride of ownership," he adds.

Both the space crunch in mobile-home parks and the corresponding jump in rents can be traced to government policy, insists Sprengle. Rents in Denver-area parks are now among the highest in the country.

"While demand is increasing, the places where companies can put the homes are decreasing," he says. "There's a scarcity of supply. The biggest barrier is the inability of developers to get new development approved. There's a prejudice against this type of housing."

As they watch their rents escalate, many park residents feel helpless against their well-funded corporate landlords.

"I don't mind a guy like [Sam] Zell investing in office buildings, but he shouldn't mess around with people's homes and senior citizens," says Helm. "His business dealings are brutal. That's fine in business, but not with an 85-year-old lady. Anybody who's brutal with an elderly lady is a bum."

Kathi Williams, a former state legislator who serves on the Adams County Housing Authority, tried to get Sam Zell to talk about Holiday Hills two months ago.

Several members of the authority thought that a possible solution for the problems facing mobile-home owners would be for the authority to buy out a mobile-home park itself. If it could buy a park like Holiday Hills, Williams says, it would be able to freeze rents or even sell spaces to residents. "We could condominiumize the site," says Williams, who has worked for years as a real-estate broker. "Some could buy and the others would rent from the housing authority."

The housing authority offered what it thought was an attractive price for Holiday Hills: $60,000 per space. For 725 homes in the park, that comes to $43.5 million. Williams says the offer was generous, especially since it's more than the per-unit price that a typical apartment building sells for in the same area.

But an agent who contacted Zell on behalf of the authority didn't get far. "Zell basically just laughed and said, 'This number isn't even close,'" says Williams. "He said he wasn't interested. We felt like a little flea on a dog's back; we're a minor irritation to him."

Williams says Zell and the other park owners realize they control a limited supply of spaces that will only grow more valuable. The housing authority has approached other owners about buying them out and gotten the same response. "Not only does Sam Zell know he has a captive audience, so does every other park owner in the state," she says. "Basically, Zell knows there will be no more mobile home parks built in Colorado."

MHC's annual report to shareholders supports that contention, noting that the shortage of spaces is a bonus for park owners. "Adding to the investment appeal is the fact that there is a limited supply of high-quality manufactured-home communities and significant barriers to creating new ones," the report states. "Development costs are high and zoning approvals are difficult to obtain. These industry fundamentals make MHC's portfolio even more valuable."

Some states are more accepting than others, however. Florida, Arizona and California view manufactured housing as a legitimate option for affordable housing, while Colorado has been considerably more hostile. An estimated 100,000 people live in mobile homes in Colorado, but it's been years since local officials have allowed a large new park to be built anywhere near Denver.

Adams County officials say they already have far more mobile homes than any other part of the metro area, and they think it's time for the other counties to accommodate mobiles. "Adams County has done its fair share over the years," says county commissioner Elaine Valente. "One county shouldn't be expected to supply all that's needed."

Valente says she is aware that park residents are being exploited, but there is little the county can do to help. "Our hands are tied," she says. "There's nothing we can do about the rents. We have no control over the park owners."