RV tenants in Stanislaus River campground dig in their heels to resist eviction
Residents of an RV park and campground in Knights Ferry did not comply with a landlord’s order to move out by Saturday.
“We are still here,” said Jackie Gregory, one of the tenants who have resisted the move-out order. “No one has moved out.”
California Rural Legal Assistance is representing some of the tenants who live in motor homes and trailers at the privately owned River’s Edge campground on Sonora Road near the center of Knights Ferry in eastern Stanislaus County.
The squabble between the tenants and landlord calls attention to the struggles of seniors and people on fixed incomes trying to find housing they can afford.
“Most of us do not have a place to go,” Gregory said.
CRLA, a nonprofit legal service, sent a May 7 letter to the campground owner saying the move-out order in April was “defective for multiple reasons” and not in compliance with the state’s recreational vehicle park occupancy law.
Tatiana Altman, a CRLA staff attorney, said this week the River’s Edge tenants were not properly served with the notice. The owner failed to cite any of the legally permissible reasons for evicting tenants from an RV park and did not give the residents 60 days notice as required by civil codes, Altman said.
She asked the campground owner to withdraw the notice and discuss the matter with CRLA. “We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and hope it can be solved amicably without litigation,” Altman’s letter said.
Ray Spears, who’s managing the campground for owner Connie Mei, said he has tried to reason with the tenants. He recently gave them an option of staying an extra 21 days while paying rent, but no one accepted the offer.
Spears said regardless of the CRLA’s arguments, “we are moving forward with the evictions in court. We are at an impasse.”
About a dozen tenants have variously lived in motorhomes and mini cabins at the Stanislaus River campground for months, one or two years or more than 10 years. Most are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes.
One of the tenants said she moved to the campground about two years ago after she could no longer stay in her RV at the Woodward Reservoir park north of Oakdale. Another resident at River’s Edge is undergoing cancer treatment.
Rita Gwin, who was featured in a Modesto Bee story on the squabble last month, became seriously ill with heart problems and was admitted to a local hospital. Gregory said the 78-year-old woman has been moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room.
Some tenants represented by CRLA
Even though the campground is permitted for short-term stays, Altman said it meets the definition of an RV park because two or more spaces are rented to RV owners at monthly rates. And so the owner has to comply with California’s RV Park law. The tenants have paid $790 a month for the RV spaces at River’s Edge.
The attorney, who said she’s representing four or five of the tenants, said a state civil code section lists seven reasons that can justify terminating tenancy at an RV park, such as nonpayment of rent, failure to comply with local regulations or a criminal conviction. None of those reasons were cited in the notice to the tenants last month, Altman said.
The notice said the River’s Edge would no longer allow long-term stays because the on-site waste management system could potentially fail. That is not one of the seven permitted reasons in state law to terminate tenancy, “therefore it cannot serve as the legal basis for an unlawful detainer action,” Altman’s letter said.
As the matter proceeds to court, Gregory said their attorney advised them to have a rental payment ready in case the landlord demands payment during the impasse. Other campground residents have told The Bee they’ve called other RV parks, where space is not available, or their motor homes or trailers won’t be accepted at other parks because of their condition.
Altman said advocates saw a slowdown in evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic because of government protections for renters who lost steady work and fell behind on rental payments.
The CRLA attorney said there is concern for seniors on fixed incomes who are getting displaced from housing or mobile home parks due to rising rental costs.
“There is not a huge glut of places where they can apply for housing they can afford,” Altman said.
The average rent for an apartment in Modesto is about $1,400 a month, according to an online apartment service, and subsidized housing for seniors is limited in Stanislaus County.
The Senior Advocacy Network said the wait time for subsidized housing is two years or more.
“If you are low-income and a senior facing eviction, there is a huge gap in services and the availability of housing,” said Hannah Brady, housing program coordinator for Senior Advocacy Network.
Knights Ferry campground subject of complaints
The private campground in Knights Ferry has been the subject of complaints and a county code enforcement action against the owner.
Altman copied her recent letter to the Knights Ferry Municipal Advisory Council, county Supervisor Buck Condit and the county sheriff’s department civil division.
County planning officials say the site is not permitted for long-term RV stays, but the county’s code enforcement is not calling for the motor home residents to leave at this time. The evictions are the decision of the owner.
Connie Mei, the owner, is applying for county and state permits to legalize the campground, for short-term stays (no more than 30 days) and to legalize changes that were made to the adjacent River’s Edge Restaurant.
County Supervisor Buck Condit said it’s unfortunate the business owner allowed long-term stays for the RV residents at River’s Edge. “I am glad to see CRLA is representing (the tenants) to get it straightened out,” Condit said. “It sounds like it is a civil matter and the business is trying to get back in compliance with its permit.”
Condit said the county has offered services to the residents, including help with finding a place to relocate. The supervisor said he attended a couple municipal advisory council meetings where the campground and anonymous complaints about the long-term camping were discussed.
The Senior Advocacy Network is starting a program matching seniors who are facing homelessness with homeowners who have a room to rent. Anyone interested may call (209) 577-3814 or the county senior information line at (209) 558-8698.
This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
