RV Campgrounds for Migrant Laborers on the Drawing Board : Housing: If a pilot project works, the city hopes other companies will follow the lead of a San Pasqual Valley palm tree grower.

Homeless migrant workers who now spend their nights in crude shacks or spider holes in the cold ground may one day find shelter in clusters of recreational vehicles or mobile homes under a pilot program conceptually approved by the San Diego Housing Commission.

The commission and Arid West Landscape, a San Pasqual Valley palm tree grower, are planning the first such campground, which could one day provide housing for about 30 of Arid West’s now homeless workers. If successful, the project, approved Thursday by housing commissioners, may serve as a model for future campgrounds in the North City agricultural region, where most migrant workers earn a subsistence living.

“We’re not going to be able to solve the problem with this particular program,” said Evan Becker, executive director of the Housing Commission. “We’re going to look at it as an exploratory type of thing. If we can work it out that one of these campgrounds can be done, and it’s successful, then I think it could be replicated in a way that might go a ways toward solving the problem.”

A report on the plan submitted to the Housing Commission estimated the number of agricultural workers living in crude encampments at 10,000 to 30,000, 80% of them documented. But no one can be certain of the true population, which fluctuates widely depending on the season.

Although the majority of the workers live in North County, substantial concentrations of homeless workers live within San Diego in the Penasquitos, Black Mountain, La Jolla Valley and San Pasqual regions, according to the report.

A handful of small housing sites for migrant workers already exists in parts of the county.

Anticipating resentment from nearby homeowners that has resulted in the dismantling of other encampments, Arid West has chosen a secluded section of its 150-acre leasehold of city land for the encampment. The plot is next to the city’s planned water hyacinth sewage reclamation plant, a mile from the nearest private home and 2 1/2 miles from the closest homeowner with a view, said David Hethorn, Arid West’s financial officer.

Under the plan, the Housing Commission would provide recreational vehicles, offered free by the city of Poway, or mobile homes to Arid, and hire a consultant to help design a campground. The area would include a central bathroom, shower and laundry facility--served by a septic system and well water--outdoor cooking facilities, a covered eating area and perhaps a recreation room, according to the report.

Arid West and future growers who participate in the program will be asked for financial contributions, but it is now unclear how much of the program they must fund, Becker said.

The Housing Commission would contract with an agency to manage the site and would ensure that transportation to the nearest shopping centers exists. The area would be landscaped to fit in with its setting and could not be put on environmentally sensitive lands, the report states. The commission must first consult with city officials to ensure that the project complies with codes.

With the clustering of migrant workers in agricultural areas an economic fact of life, the campgrounds would provide safe and decent homes to a population that clings to minimum-wage jobs despite harsh conditions, Becker said.

“You can either have them wherever they want to be, doing whatever they want to, or we can do it in a more planned way,” Becker said.

The Rev. Rafael Martinez, director of the North County Chaplaincy and a longtime provider of human services to migrant workers, welcomed the program, but said that site management, social services and education also must be provided.

There also must be an organization within the campground to settle disputes and establish rules on cleanliness and safety, Martinez said.