While some residents who live in RVs in the backyard of a home in Sylmar have already left, others say they don’t plan on leaving despite a judge issuing a court order.
The court order, issued on July 19, stated that those living in the more than 20 recreation vehicles parked in the 14000 block of Hubbard Street had until July 23 to vacate the area, KTLA reported. The order came just one day after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power shut off power at the property.
The office of Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said that a court-ordered pre-inspection revealed “additional public health and safety concerns that prompted intervention from the Department of Water and Power to shut down power access to the property.”
“The conditions on this private property are an exploitation of vulnerable people seeking housing, and I am thankful for the success of our coordinated response that brings some immediate resolution for neighbors and residents at the property in question,” she said in a statement, adding that her office was working to find temporary housing for those being asked to leave.
Neighbors in the area said they want the property cleared out, with one man telling KNX News there’s been mass and sewage problems.
“I had photos where it's running down the sidewalk and we literally went to one of the neighbor's yard and we have photos that were going down the street,” he said. “We could smell it. I mean, (in the) summertime you get a breeze, you smell it from blocks and blocks away.”
Still, a caretaker for one man living in the area told KNX News the man doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon.
“He doesn’t really have any plans but he’s not leaving until somebody helps find a place,” he said.
Another man told reporters that the property straddles Sylmar and the city of San Fernando and that those who were supposed to vacate already left.
“The vehicles from the back side of San Fernando have been evicted already,” he said. “There’s no court order for Sylmar.”
He also told KNX News the homeowner was asked to leave and said, he doesn’t agree with that.
“It’s her home,” he said. “Why should she leave? That’s abandoning her property.”
The homeowner, Cruz Godoy, was charged with “misdemeanors related to zoning and permit”, according to KABC-7.
The outlet reported Godoy, who reportedly charged those living in the RVs around $500 a month, did not have permits allowing RVs on her property.
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