The Bolinas Community Land Trust has reached a deal to purchase the Tacherra ranch, where it plans to replace 23 condemned structures with new farmworker housing. The trust and the receiver in charge of the property expect to sign a purchase-and-sale agreement within days.
The sale would mark a key turning point in the trust’s plans to develop the property, where 60 residents, nearly all of them Latino, were living until they moved into an emergency R.V. park next door last October.
“We’re delighted to have reached an agreement,” said Annie O’Connor, the trust’s executive director. “It’s a huge milestone that we have a contract that both sides are happy with.”
Meanwhile, with the backing of Sen. Mike McGuire, the trust partnered with the county’s health and human services department to apply for an $8.2 million state grant that would provide funds for the operation of the park and cover some of the costs of the new housing. A portion could also be used to purchase new R.V.s for the trailer park, after nearly half the mobile homes developed leaks and other moisture problems this winter.
Over the next several months, the trust will conduct inspections of the ranch before transferring funds to complete the sale. Because the Mesa Road property is in receivership, the deal must be approved by a judge before it becomes official.
“I’m anxious to get this done,” said Larry Baskin, the property’s court-appointed receiver and a Stinson Beach resident. “Our last draft of the contract just had a few little typos that need to be fixed. If we can get the documents signed this week, we can get this before the court by May 5.”
The two sides said they would not disclose the sale price until the deal it is approved by the court.
When the sale is complete, the land trust plans to develop the new housing with technical assistance from Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. The two nonprofits have teamed up on other housing projects in town. Residents of the R.V. park would be offered the opportunity to move into the new affordable housing, which the trust currently estimates will take five years to build.
Meanwhile, the families living at Bo Linda Vista—the name they gave their new community in January—are dealing with a disappointing surprise: Nearly half of the trailers delivered last fall, all of them brand new, have leaks or other moisture issues, most caused by manufacturing defects.
The company that leased them to the trust has replaced four of them so far and plans to replace the remainder in the coming weeks. Some of the replacements will be larger than the original trailers, which have proved cramped for families of four or five.
“They will be a bigger, sturdier model meant more for full-time living than the current ones,” said Azucena Vazquez, a resident whose trailer began leaking during a storm in November.
Some of her family’s clothes and furnishings have been damaged due to excessive condensation and mold, said Ms. Vazquez, who lives in the unit with her husband and two daughters.
“I’ve had to throw out our curtains and four pillows,” she said. “My kids’ stuffed animals have mold in them. You can clean them, but it’s frustrating and tiring, and it shouldn’t be necessary.”
In early January, at one of their weekly tenants’ association meetings, the residents decided to name the R.V. park. “Bo Linda Vista” translates roughly to Beautiful Bolinas View, reflecting the park’s expansive view of Mount Tamalpais.
“We don’t want to be known as the Tacherra residents,” Ms. Vazquez said. “That’s in the past. We’re working toward something better.”
Residents have posted a hand-painted sign with the name and a children-at-play sign, cautioning visitors to enter slowly. Curious neighbors had been driving in and out of the park to look around, and they wanted to remind them that it is a private community.
The stress of moving has been compounded by the unexpected defects of the trailers. “Things were supposed to be better here than they were at the ranch, but sometimes it feels like we’re in the same situation,” Ms. Vazquez said.
Despite the complications that have arisen, she remains confident that things will work out. “I have faith,” she said.
Besides upgrading the trailers and building the new housing, the state grant could be used to provide various social services to the residents. The land trust expects to learn whether it won the grant by the end of April.
The money would come from the state’s Encampment Resolution Funding program, which is aimed at improving conditions in encampments and moving people into permanent housing.
“We’re very pleased to be able to partner with the Bolinas Community Land Trust to help the residents improve their living conditions and access needed services and supports,” said Gary Naja-Riese, the county’s director of homelessness services.
Marin has recently received grants from the fund to move people out of encampments in Novato and San Rafael.
“Our county has been very successful in applying for and receiving those grants,” Mr. Naja-Riese said. “We’ve received every grant that the county or one of our cities has applied for.”
Mike McGuire, leader of the California State Senate, wrote a letter to the fund’s administrator supporting the request.
“For too long these community members have been without a voice, living in dangerous and unimaginable conditions,” he wrote. “Receiving this funding is a critical next step in permanently housing an extremely vulnerable and under-resourced population that is an integral part of the community of Bolinas.”
Sen. McGuire also wrote a letter to the California Coastal Commission, urging it to reject an appeal filed by opponents of the emergency R.V. park who argued that it encroaches on wetlands and was improperly permitted by the county.
Despite the appeal, Ms. Vazquez said she believes most Bolinas community members want the project to succeed. “We’re going to keep moving forward and fighting for dignified housing and a dignified life,” she said. “If you don’t have dignified housing, you can’t have a dignified life.”