El Morro Residents File 2 Suits

Longtime residents of El Morro Village, the coastal mobile home park scheduled to be converted into a public campground soon, have filed two lawsuits seeking to block their Dec. 31 eviction from Crystal Cove State Park.

State park officials say the lawsuits are the only obstacles to providing full public access to the El Morro site, 32 prime acres on the beach and along the edge of El Moro Canyon across Coast Highway.

“We want to make sure that unique and irreplaceable park becomes truly accessible to everyone instead of a few tenants,” said Ken Kramer, Crystal Cove park superintendent.

But for the residents, many of whom say they don’t know where else they can find affordable housing and a similar sense of community, the lawsuits are their last hope of staying in their homes.

“The public has been misinformed about who we are,” said Vicki Gorham, one of the residents behind a civil suit asking the court for a preliminary injunction to block the eviction.

“They think we’re made up of a bunch of rich people and these are our second homes. Most of us are full-time [residents], quite a few of us are on fixed incomes.... It will be tough finding a place with the same quality of life that this community offers. Everybody seems to have either a deck or a porch. That’s kind of rare nowadays.”

El Morro Village, more than 75 years old, is home to about 295 families. Many signed 20-year leases in 1979, when the Irvine Co. sold the land to the state. In 1999, the mobile home park residents were given a five-year lease extension, which expires Dec. 31.

The El Morro Community Assn. and several residents filed the two last-minute lawsuits. One, filed Nov. 15 in federal court, alleges that destruction or removal of the mobile homes could harm endangered species in the area. The second suit, filed Nov. 18 in Orange County Superior Court, alleges that by not renewing the leases, the state is violating the California Mobilhome Residency Law, which provides legal protections to mobile home owners. Hearings on both suits are scheduled for this month.

State officials have sent notices reminding residents that they must move out.

They have also offered a 90-day transition period that would allow residents to stay until April 1. Those who accept the offer, which expires Dec. 17, must pay the state $3,000 to cover cost of the mobile home removal and demolition, plus water and utility bills, and must agree to leave by April 1, Kramer said.

“State parks was attempting to make every last possible good-faith effort to provide an opportunity for a smooth transition for everybody,” Kramer said.

About two dozen residents have expressed interest in the extension. But others are waiting for a court decision -- which is likely to be appealed regardless of the outcome, said attorney Gerald Klein, who is handling the Superior Court suit.

“We’re all a little bit nervous,” Gorham said. “I don’t have a backup plan. Both of my neighbors on both sides of me are single women that don’t have backup plans either. I’ve looked around for a condo to buy and I don’t qualify because I don’t make enough money.”