Homeowners Lock Out a Harsh Reality : * Barring Migrants From Trabuco Highlands Only Makes a Bad Situation Worse

How does an affluent area like Orange County get a situation like that endured by the people of Porterville? Last week, this powerless group of tenants, caught in a dispute between their landlord and a nearby homeowners association, began making steps to leave their migrant camp since they were left with no other alternative.

In an unsatisfactory conclusion for the tenants, the William Lyon Co. and landlord Sam Porter reached an agreement in July, 1992, whereby the association got the right to build a gate blocking the 645-home subdivision from the ranch. The association had complained of traffic and noises generated by the tenants in the streets of Trabuco Highlands. Earlier this month, the gate was installed and locked, leaving tenants no way onto the ranch except by walking at least a mile along a creek bed.

The neighborhood association says it isn’t happy about the outcome, but that it was unavoidable. The landlord says the tenants are victims of racism. The county, meanwhile, has tried to dismantle the shantytown community over the years, citing numerous fire, safety and health code violations.

Clearly, the tenants are caught in the middle. They work in nurseries nearby, but like many migrants toiling in agriculture they are apparently supposed to be seen by day and forgotten after nightfall. Fortunately, there are some people in this sorry tale who are doing more than lamenting that things are out of their hands. A group from nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church and School in Rancho Santa Margarita was helping to find the families new homes.

It shouldn’t have come to this. Isn’t there something the county can do to help these people find better living arrangements? Isn’t it possible to give the residents the time they need to find new quarters? Can’t the homeowners lighten up until this difficult situation is resolved in a more satisfactory manner for these people who are victimized and powerless?