Possibly staying put

Lauren Vane

As evictions loom at El Morro Village in Crystal Cove State Park,

residents of the scenic mobile home park have been thrown a last

minute life-preserver -- if they can catch it in time .

Last week, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore proposed two similar bills

that could allow the El Morro residents to remain in their homes for

30 years.

If approved by the legislature, the bills would require that the

residents pay a total of $50 million to the state to extend their

leases -- funds that would either help reduce the state budget

deficit or work off a backlog in parks department maintenance costs.

DeVore says the mobile home tenants could help fill the

$8.6-billion gap in the state’s budget deficit by paying increased

rents, and that the state would also save $12 million by not

developing the site with a 60-unit campground, a 200-space parking

lot and nature trails, restrooms and a lifeguard tower.

“If we in Sacramento are serious about getting a handle on our

runaway deficit, then we have to take concrete steps to improve the

state’s financial situation,” DeVore said.

Fern Pirkle, who spearheaded efforts that led to the creation of

Crystal Cove State Park, opposes the bills.

“Definitely it’s against the best interests of the people of

California and against the best interests of most of Mr. DeVore’s

constituents, who I’m sure would like to be able to go to the beach

there and would like to be able to spend the night camping there,”

Pirkle said.

DeVore does not want to give residents false hope that their homes

may be saved, but he does hope one of the bills will pass before the

evictions take place -- or that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will act

to halt the evictions.

“I’m hoping that by putting forward my bill, the governor’s office

will put forward a stay because this is a valuable resource they’re

going to lose pretty soon,” DeVore said.

False hope or not, the El Morro residents are hanging on to the

possibility that DeVore’s proposal could save them from having to

uproot their homes -- and their lives.

“We’re gratified that someone else is interested in our plight and

that we have an assemblyman who has some fiscal responsibility,” said

Jeanette Miller, Chairperson of the El Morro Community Assn.

“Its all dollars and cents to me and I just think it’s fiscally

irresponsible,” DeVore said.

As the bills propose, the tenants will pay a minimum of $50

million to the state. The money will either help fill the state

deficit hole or go toward the backlog of parks department maintenance

costs. The $50-million payment would raise El Morro tenants’ rent

considerably, DeVore said. Tenants would pay market rates, totaling

$4.2 million, which would net an estimated $3.2 million to the state,

after maintenance costs.

The El Morro mobile home park has been in operation since the

mid-1950s, and homeowners first signed a 20-year lease with the state

in 1979 when the Crystal Cove Park land was purchased by the parks

department.

An additional five-year extension on the lease was granted in 1999

because the state did not have sufficient funds to proceed with

construction of a park at the site. Now that the lease is up and the

state has the money to begin the project, construction of the new

public facility is set to begin in Spring 2005.

In December, residents were given an option to sign a three-month

lease extension along with a payment of $3,000, which will go toward

the cost of removing the mobile homes.

To date, 26 residents have signed the three-month lease extension

agreement and therefore may legally remain in their homes until April

1, said Ken Kramer, superintendent of Crystal Cove State Park. The

remaining 268 tenants could be served with eviction notices in the

coming weeks, Kramer said.

In the meantime, Miller said that residents are anxious about what

the future will bring.

“We’re just hoping that the state will have the time to consider

this possibility before we’re evicted,” Miller said.

Many El Morro residents who have not signed the extension

agreement intend to stay until they are forced to leave, Miller said.

“We’re going to hang on until the last possible minute,” Miller

said. “No one is making plans to move.”

David Flores, a local resident and parent of a child at Top of the

World elementary school, received a flier in the mail Tuesday

featuring nonlocal newspaper headlines about crimes that had occurred

in RV parks and campgrounds.

The flier read: “The 300 families of El Morro Village have been

great parents and neighbors to El Morro Elementary for over 50 years.

Those good neighbors will be evicted in the next few weeks . Don’t

let this happen to our community.”

Flores said he thinks the flier is a scare tactic to get local

residents to support the El Morro tenants.

Miller said she was not aware of who mailed the flier, but said

she knows that local parents are concerned about the RV park and what

it could mean for the nearby school.

For now, state parks legislative staff are in the process of

reviewing both of DeVore’s proposed bills, after which they will make

a recommendation to the governor, Kramer said. An unlawful detainer

motion is making its way through court, and if the court finds in

favor of the state, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies will soon post

eviction notices at El Morro trailer park , Kramer said.