Photo by Deb Gau A padlocked gate was installed at one of the two entrances to the Broadmoor Valley mobile home park late last week. Park owners said the gate was put in for security, but Marshall city staff say leaving Broadmoor Valley with just one entrance goes against city zoning regulations.

MARSHALL — A gate closing off one of the only two entrances to the Broadmoor Valley mobile home park went up late last week.

Marshall city employees say they hope park owners will open it back up.

The padlocked gate, which was installed at the entrance to Broadmoor Valley on Spruce Lane near Minnesota Highway 23, goes against Marshall zoning ordinances for manufactured home park districts, said Public Works Director Jason Anderson.

It’s also a safety concern, said Marshall Public Safety Director Jim Marshall.

“This is a public safety issue I have,” Marshall said. In an emergency, having to open a gate “could add valuable minutes onto our time of response,” he said.

Anderson said city staff have been trying to contact Broadmoor Valley owners about opening the gate.

Broadmoor Valley employees installed a metal gate with padlocks at the Spruce Lane entrance on Thursday, said Broadmoor Valley resident Deb Ertl. With the gate in place, the only entrance to the mobile home park was located on Saratoga Street.

Ertl said she received a text message from Broadmoor Valley management that same day the gate went up. The text read “permanent closure of hwy 23 entrance for your safety and security use saratoga thanks.”

Ertl said not all Broadmoor Valley residents receive text updates, so not everyone knew the Spruce Lane entrance to the park would be closed.

“We informed residents it was for their safety and security,” Broadmoor Valley owner Paul Schierholz confirmed to the Independent via email. However, Schierholz did not elaborate on why the gate was installed. He did not answer an emailed follow-up question as to whether there were specific safety concerns or complaints at Broadmoor Valley.

Schierholz also said Broadmoor Valley had notified Marshall Police and the Marshall Fire Department about the gate, and offered them a key to the padlock if they wanted it.

Anderson said Broadmoor Valley residents notified Marshall city staff about the Spruce Lane park entrance being gated off. He said the city was trying to contact Schierholz to request that the entrance be reopened.

Marshall’s zoning regulations for manufactured home park districts say that manufactured home parks “shall have at least two access points to a public right of way which are deemed adequate to serve the anticipated traffic generated by the park.”

According to a zoning map available on the Marshall city website, the land where Broadmoor Valley is located is zoned as a manufactured home park district. The zoning map was revised in 2024.

Marshall said MPD had received some correspondence about the gate being put up. However, he said he was not aware of there being safety or security issues at Broadmoor Valley that were brought to MPD’s attention.

Having to unlock a gate, or enter the park from the opposite end, could potentially slow down responders in the case of an emergency, Marshall said.