County Offers Water to Hi Vista Families

Reacting to the plight of alleged land fraud victims living in the isolated High Desert without utilities, officials Tuesday reversed Los Angeles County policy and began for the first time offering water access to an estimated 50 families.

The change was part of a comprehensive plan presented to the County Board of Supervisors that includes free legal advice, financial aid and help bringing substandard housing up to code for hundreds of low-income Latinos who purchased raw desert land from developer Marshall Redman.

Beginning today, teams of bilingual county workers will conduct a door-to-door search for Redman customers in the Antelope Valley “to determine the general status and well-being of the victims,” according to a report submitted to the board by a task force appointed to review the Redman sales.

Also on Tuesday, Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti failed for the second consecutive week to appear as requested before the supervisors to explain why his agency had not taken a more active role in investigating allegedly bogus land sales made by Redman’s three companies.

The 67-year-old Redman was charged in May with seven felonies in connection with the sales. Redman’s three companies between 1978 and 1994 sold undeveloped land to about 2,500 customers across three Southern California counties, promising such amenities as water and power that were never delivered. Redman also allegedly sold land he did not own, in one case located in the middle of a freeway.

The developer has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich on Tuesday chastised Garcetti, saying his continued absences were slowing the board’s investigation of the sales and their resulting complications. A spokesman in Garcetti’s office said the district attorney was out of town on business Tuesday.

“Mr. Garcetti should make it a priority to be here and answer these questions because of the seriousness of the problem,” said Antonovich, renewing a request that Garcetti appear next Tuesday. “Unless he’s here, we can’t get a full explanation of what has been going on so we can begin to get to the bottom of this.”

Tuesday’s task force report was one of two released in the last week on the Redman case. In June, the Board of Supervisors appointed two different panels--one by Antonovich to provide an early warning system of such large-scale land fraud and a second by Supervisor Gloria Molina to research ways to assist the developer’s alleged victims.

In a status report released last week, the Antonovich task force scheduled a July 22 public meeting to discuss “the nature of the real estate activities Mr. Redman engaged in, and the potential gaps in the system which allowed these activities to continue for an extended period of time.”

An estimated 50 Redman customers living in the county’s far-flung Hi Vista area had been denied water because officials said they could not prove they owned the land on which they lived.

For the next 18 months, the county will provide residents with keys to access one of four county wells, if they can prove they purchased land from Redman. Keys cost $45.60 for six months.

“It is a change of county policy,” said James Noyes, chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. “But on the other hand, these are folks who in all honesty are doing without a basic service, so if we can do anything to alleviate that situation, we will do that.

“We aren’t giving away free water,” Noyes said. “These people will have to pay like everyone else. And this is not a permanent move. We want to help out until this situation can be resolved.”

Redman customers with property in Hi Vista--about 90 miles north of downtown Los Angeles--began to get the good news about water access last week.

“I’m relieved,” said Maria Jimenez, whose mother, Juanita, bought property from Marshall Redman. In 1992, Juanita Ortiz died of asphyxiation in a house without utilities, after a propane lamp leaked deadly carbon monoxide.

“I wish this help had come when my mother was still alive. But when we went to the county years ago, they advised us to steal the water. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. Even the word makes me feel queasy.”

Last year, the county shut down dozens of fire hydrants in the Hi Vista area, after officials said they had lost $19,000 in stolen water.

Securing electricity won’t be such an easy matter, according to the task force report. But officials said they would work with residents to provide the infrastructure necessary to hook up to the Southern California Edison system.

Noyes said the task force would ask for $20,000 from the Board of Supervisors to pay for this month’s Antelope Valley outreach effort and may seek additional funds.

Public works teams will inspect each residence for safety problems and then consult with government agencies for advice and assistance in remedying the problems. Outside material suppliers and contractors will also be asked to provide help free of charge.

County officials, working with the Mexican consul general’s office in Los Angeles and the Mexican American Bar Assn., will also help provide Redman customers with free legal advice in deciding whether to keep their land or opt for a refund.

Officials will also publish a Spanish-language brochure advising them on building and safety requirements if they decide to remain in the High Desert.

“We’re going to be telling people that if you do decide to stay, this is everything you’ve got to do in order to have a legal development on your property,” Noyes said. “And that includes providing water and other needs.

“The county is not in the business of providing new water mains to new developments. These are all interim measures. At some point, these people are going to be on their own.”