Residents of Cali Lake RV Resort could be pushed out as the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission is holding a hearing on Wednesday to determine if the park can continue to house long-term residents.
The meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Wednesday at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration Building, located at 500 W. Temple St. in downtown Los Angeles.
Stewart Silver, owner of the RV park located in a remote location east of Santa Clarita limits and south of Agua Dulce, said that despite doing what was previously asked by bringing his occupancy down to 47 spaces in June, the county is looking to bring that down to zero.
Silver said he had a conditional use permit for 103 spaces that was valid through 2023, but now that it has expired, the county is telling him that he needs to shift his business model to short-term stays.
“I brought it down to 47 (spaces),” Silver said in a phone interview. “They came and inspected and we got signed off. We were 100% compliant.”
The area where the RV park is located is what the county refers to as a high-fire severity zone, according to previous reporting in The Signal. A county planning representative who is overseeing the case was not immediately available Friday to discuss the current issues surrounding long-term residency at the park.
What the county is seeking to do with the RV park is have tenants only be allowed to stay for 90 days at a time during a six-month period, according to Silver. Once those 90 days are up, tenants would have to not reside in the park again for another 90 days before they would be allowed back in, he said.
According to Silver, the average residency for his tenants is seven years, two months, and he has one tenant who has been living there for 41 years. Those who are displaced would have nowhere else to go and would be forced to find a place to park their RVs on the streets.
“It didn’t turn out good last time,” Silver said. “Six of them live in Santa Clarita in a homeless encampment out there. And others are all wherever they can find a spot, but in the valley somewhere.”
In total, 196 people and 71 dogs could be displaced should Silver not be granted a permit. And he’s worried that if he doesn’t win, then other RV parks could also be put in the same situation.
“The county is going to have a real problem with homelessness with another 46 RVs, 200 people,” Silver said.
To watch the meeting virtually, visit bit.ly/ZOOM-RPC. To listen by phone, call 669-444-9171 or 719-359-4580.
