Agreement to close SoCal migrant park may be near

The Associated Press
10:08 a.m. February 24, 2009

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A desert mobile home park that houses thousands of migrant workers, many of them in the country illegally, could close soon after years of government complaints that it is dangerous and rundown, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Owner Harvey Duro and the government are nearing a formal agreement for closure, U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said Monday.

Duro had been receiving $7,000 a month from rental payments collected by the nonprofit Duroville Renaissance Corp., which manages the Desert Mobile Home Park, popularly known as Duroville.

However, a judge halted the payments in December, saying Duro had failed to keep promises to fix problems.

"If I can't get a fair shake, why not close?" he said.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Larson refused to reinstate the payments during a hearing last week. A trial on whether to close the park is scheduled to begin April 7.

On Monday, the judge took under advisement a government request to close the park without a trial but did not say when he might rule.
The 40-acre Coachella Valley camp has about 300 mobile homes, and its population can grow to 6,000 during the valley's harvest season.

The government first tried to close the park in 2003. It has been repeatedly cited for health and safety violations such as open sewage, faulty wiring and fire hazards.

Duro said the loss of income had prompted him to stop fighting to keep the park open.

"They're using my property and using my equipment there, but I'm getting nothing out of it," he said after the hearing. "To me, they're in trespass because I have no say in it."

He accused the judge and prosecutors of racial discrimination. The park is on the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation. Duro is a tribal member.

"It's ridiculous," Mrozek said of Duro's accusation. "This case from the start has been about the health and safety of the residents at Duroville, period. We're looking at a facility where the potential for loss of life is very, very real."

Mark Adams, an attorney for the court-appointed Duroville Renaissance Corp., said there have been significant safety improvements in recent months.

Riverside County wants to keep the park open at least until the end of 2010 so there is time to find new housing for the tenants, said Tom Freeman, a spokesman for the county Economic Development Agency.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is asking for $25 million in federal funds to relocate residents, but the money has not been approved.

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