Opponents of a temporary emergency R.V. park in Bolinas have asked the California Coastal Commission to overturn the county’s approval of the project, which is designed to move dozens of residents out of condemned housing.
An organization called Bolinas for Compassionate Land Use filed its appeal of the project on Nov. 21, alleging that it violates Marin’s coastal zoning regulations and state environmental safeguards.
“The project’s rushed processing has resulted in a poorly planned development that neither protects the environment nor provides sustainable, quality, and lawful affordable housing,” the appeal states.
The Bolinas Community Land Trust opened the site on Oct. 20 with the goal of getting residents moved in before the rainy season. The 27 trailers are located on a 2.5-acre corner of a 20-acre lot at 130 Mesa Road, between the fire station and the Tacherra ranch, where about 60 residents, most of them Latino, had been living for years in substandard housing.
The county condemned the 23 rundown trailers and ramshackle structures at the ranch last year and approved emergency permits for the R.V. park in May. A zoning administrator gave final approval to the project last month, and the county contributed $662,000 to help finance it.
The appeal to the coastal commission was filed by attorney Edward Yates and signed by Cheryl Ruggiero, a Bolinas resident and an outspoken opponent of the project. Ms. Ruggiero and Alicia Gamez, who owns a home across from the R.V. park, are the only residents named in the appeal.
Backers of the project have dominated a series of public meetings on the plan, and opponents are afraid to voice their position, Ms. Ruggiero said.
“There are many Bolinas people who oppose what’s going on at the trailer park, but they will not speak out,” she said.
Residents began moving into the emergency housing late last month. The county had set a Nov. 15 goal for clearing out the Tacherra homes, most of which lack proper plumbing or septic systems and several of which don’t have hot water, baths or showers. Many are infested with rodents and mold.
The county intends to lock up the dwellings before the end of the year so that no one else can move in after they have been vacated, said Sarah Jones, director of the Marin County Community Development Agency.
Most ranch residents have moved into the R.V. park, although a handful have moved elsewhere. Jim and Susan Tacherra and their two adult children were offered trailers but asked for permission to make repairs to their property and remain there. The county declined their request, Ms. Jones said.
“We’ve conveyed that everybody needs to move off site,” she said. “There are health and safety issues. People can’t be living there.”
Brian Washington, the county counsel, said he may seek a court injunction requiring the Tacherras to leave if they don’t choose to do so on their own.
The land trust, the county and the receiver who has been managing the ranch since 2012 are working to find a solution that satisfies all parties.
The trust is negotiating with the receiver to purchase the ranch, remove the condemned housing and replace it with permanent, affordable housing. Residents of the R.V. park would be offered spaces in the new housing with their rent capped at 30 percent of their income.
The project’s opponents maintain that it violates the Williamson Act, a law that gives property owners a tax break if they keep their land in agricultural production. They also argue that it encroaches on a wetland and has not been subject to sufficient environmental review.
The land trust placed the trailers on a corner of the parcel that was the site of previous construction and is at least 50 feet away from designated wetlands.
“I believe the project has been conscientiously designed, and I hope that the coastal commission approves it,” said Larry Baskin, the receiver who is negotiating the sale of the ranch to the land trust.
Ms. Jones said she was confident the commission would uphold the county’s decision to approve the park. “Everyone involved in this project has worked very hard to find a path to a better situation for the residents, the environment and Bolinas, and we feel that the R.V. park achieves that,” she said.
Annie O’Connor, director of the land trust, said the nonprofit hasn’t yet received a copy of the appeal. “We look forward to working collaboratively with the community to address all legitimate points presented to the coastal commission,” she said.
Speaking at a Board of Supervisors meeting last month, Ingris Yanet Lopez, a former Tacherra ranch resident, beseeched opponents of the R.V. park to allow it to proceed. “Every legal action you make against the B.C.L.T. threatens and harms us,” Ms. Lopez said. “Please do not continue to use your privilege, your extra time, your money and your education to fight to deny us the hope of a better future for our children.”