Residents at Cali Lake RV Resort will have to wait another month to find out if they can continue to live there long-term.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors was scheduled on Tuesday to vote on an appeal to the county Regional Planning Commission’s granting of short-term stays, but that will now be heard again on Oct. 29.
In April, the county Regional Planning Commission had granted Cali Lake owner Stewart Silver a conditional use permit for short-term stays of up to 90 days within a six-month period at the park, located in a remote location east of Santa Clarita city limits and south of Agua Dulce.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Silver said the delay is “100% on their end,” but that he has met with representatives from the county who have assured him that his tenants “are not going to have a problem.”
That comes after Silver said he came away encouraged from the original hearing date last month after the board spent roughly an hour discussing the appeal with Amy Bodek, director of Regional Planning.
Much of the discussion focused on the board trying to determine why the commission had presented findings that would limit stays to that shorter timeframe due to the park being located in what has been deemed to be a high fire and flood severity zone.
Silver’s attorney, Chris Chapman, contended at last month’s hearing that there is no correlation between length of stay and the health and safety of residents. He said someone who lives at a place permanently would have a better idea of how to handle an emergency, such as a fire or flood, than someone who is staying there for just a couple of days.
That point was also raised by 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, and 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn.
Bodek said state law doesn’t allow for length of stay to be limited “except for substantial findings.” Those were presented, but Hahn said she was unclear on what those findings were.
Barger said that with the county facing local emergencies around affordable housing and homelessness, it wouldn’t make sense to put more people on the streets. She said she would be comfortable with stipulations added to the conditional use permit that would only allow for operable RV units to be housed, thereby making it easier to evacuate.
Silver previously said he would comply with whatever is needed to ensure his residents can continue to keep their homes.
