Landowner to Let Migrant-Worker Tenants Return

A landowner who evicted several migrant workers from trailers and campers on his rural tract in North San Diego agreed in an out-of-court settlement Thursday to allow the tenants to return.

Under the settlement, which was filed with San Diego Superior Court, landowner Jose Santos must return by Saturday the five trailers he towed away last week.

Santos threw out the tenants, who were paying $150 to $300 a month to keep their trailers on his property, and threatened several others with eviction after he received a notice from San Diego code-enforcement officers earlier this month for failing to obtain a permit for grading on the property. The trailers were towed to a storage yard in San Marcos.

Attorneys for California Rural Legal Assistance and an Encinitas lawyer, Patrick Greenwell, came to the aid of the farm workers late last week. On Friday, the attorneys got a court order prohibiting Santos from removing any more of the trailers that make up the ragtag enclave hidden in the rolling hills off Black Mountain Road.

Although the trailers that were towed away will be returned under the settlement reached Thursday, it remains to be seen how long the migrant workers will be allowed to stay on the property, which is not zoned for a trailer park.

San Diego zoning and housing officials are aware of the enclave and are expected to demand that the aluminum-shelled trailers be removed.

Claudia Smith, regional counsel for California Rural Legal Assistance, said she has “confidence that the city will be reasonable” about allowing the migrant workers enough time to find new accommodations.