El Morro tenants move out

Alicia Robinson and Lauren Vane

The message board inside the office of the El Morro Community

Association is crowded with notices from prospective buyers offering

cash for mobile homes. Beneath the board sits stack of business cards

from a real estate agent.

Those notices may come in handy for residents at El Morro Village

mobile-home park in scenic, seaside Crystal Cove. For a handful of

them, today was the deadline to leave their homes, and about two

dozen of the park’s nearly 300 residents agreed to move out by today

rather than continue to fight their evictions.

State officials are trying to oust El Morro residents, who moved

into the community under leases that expired at the end of 2004. Once

the mobile-home park is vacant, the state plans to convert it to

public parkland, with camping areas and a parking lot.

Some residents have already left, and others will relocate soon.

One man, who declined to give his name, was moving out Wednesday

after 30 years as a summer resident at El Morro. Now, he said, he’ll

go back to living at his permanent residence in Riverside.

Another resident, Ross St. Clair, has started packing, though he

won’t move until next week, and for now, he plans to move to another

vacant unit in the community.

“The majority of the people obviously are here for the duration,

to just see it through,” St. Clair said.

The uncertainty about the mobile-home park’s future has had some

more tangible effects. Bob Mitchell, a two-year resident of El Morro,

said people have slacked off on maintenance, and some of the homes

are now leaking and have rodent problems.

“We don’t want to put money into our houses because we don’t know

what’s going to happen,” Mitchell said.

Those who remain at El Morro are awaiting the outcome of the court

battle with the state and two bills written by Newport Beach

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore that would extend their leases and bank the

rent money for the state.