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| County to evict farm workers By Jeanine Gore--Half Moon Bay Review Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, December 24, 2003 12:13 PM PST The expected shutdown of a Pescadero mushroom farm that will result in the eviction of 20 Latino immigrants living on the property could come as soon as next week, according to reports. The immigrants, who've been living in a barn, garage and trailers on the farm in Pescadero, may be forced to leave their homes as a result of a county investigation into possible health and safety violations on the property. The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office plans to slap the owner of the property with a long list of health and safety violations, thereby evicting the immigrants, which include men, women and children. That will probably happen next week, according to San Mateo County Department of Environmental Health Director Dean Peterson. The property owner, who has not been named, will be ordered to rectify the situation or face criminal charges. The problem for the tenants is that to resolve the matter, the owner will invariably have to evict them, Peterson said. And while some of them have places to go, others do not. Peterson said the most pressing concern for the county is fire danger. The illegal housing, some of which is made of plastic and plywood, is reportedly full of faulty wiring - in some cases stereo wire being overloaded with electricity. There are also propane tanks sitting too close to the substandard structures. And because there is no central heating, the families are using portable heaters to keep warm at night. All of the above, Peterson said, pose immediate fire dangers. He said the situation is "unfortunate" for the residents. "Everybody over there is paying rent," he said. "It really is sad, especially when you see there are children and the barn has no heat." Peterson said he didn't know exactly when the "notice to abate" would be posted. "I'm not sure when this is going to happen," he said. "It's not going to happen tomorrow. It's probably going to happen late next week." And, he said, it's hasn't been decided whether they will be given time - up to 30 days to leave - or will be ordered out immediately. That, too, is up to deputy District Attorney John Wilson, who was unavailable for comment. "It's definitely not going to be 30 days - It'll be shorter than longer," said Peterson. Sheriff's Lt. John Quinlan said he's seen the "terrible" conditions on the ranch. "That's horrible housing conditions down there," he said. "If you're going to pay a lot of money for rent, you figure you're going to at least have a toilet in your house, not an outhouse," he said. But, he added, the county has to deal with the situation and is trying to do so with the best interests of the residents in mind. "It's a real complex issue to evict people," Quinlan said. "The trick is to find them a place to go first." |