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Previously:

• Crescent City Harbor Commissioners Refute Claims That Bayside RV Park Residents Will Be Evicted During Potential Revitalization Project

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A nonprofit housing advocacy group is warning the Crescent City Harbor District of potential legal action should it continue with plans to redevelop Bayside RV Park.

In a “pre-suit demand letter” to the Harbor District on Tuesday, Housing Now! California stated that it has filed complaints with the California Department of Housing and Community Development and with the state Attorney General.

Housing Now! California is accusing the Harbor District of violating the California Surplus Lands Act, the Relocation Assistance Act and the Housing Element Law.

In its letter, Housing Now! California contends that the Crescent City Harbor District could displace roughly 100 permanent residents at Bayside RV and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks if it follows through on Alex Lemus’s proposal to install 50 cabins at the park.

The organization also accuses the Harbor Commissioners’ assurances on Aug. 3 that residents are not in immediate danger of eviction to be “smoke and mirrors.”

“A cursory examination of the vacant space available at Bayside makes it clear that 50 cabins cannot be installed without displacing most, if not all, current residents in the near future,” the organization’s letter states.

The organization also mentions the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, though stated that Del Norte County is currently not subject to that law, as well as the Housing Element Law.

Housing Now! California is also warning of potential civil suits filed on behalf of Bayside RV Park residents as well as possible recall of Harbor District commissioners.

“This matter has been referred to a coalition of our partner legal aid organizations for consideration of private enforcement action if the District chooses not to comply and if the HCD or AG should decline to intervene,” the pre-suit demand letter states.

The organization is acting on behalf of six individuals, Gabriella Contadino, the organization’s Northern California litigation coordinator told the Wild Rivers Outpost. However, she said, many more are interested in being represented.

“Naturally many individuals are just beginning to learn the details of how their rights as tenants may have been infringed,” Contadino told the Outpost via email Tuesday. “This is partly due to (what we assert to be) inadequate disclosure and improper concealment on the part of the district. As an example, we have learned that development planning has been listed on meeting agendas with misleading terms such as ‘Solar Project Update,’ which conceals from the public far-reaching aspects of the planned development.”

This complaint comes roughly a week after Bayside RV Park residents confronted Crescent City Harbor District commissioners, accusing them of planning to evict them to make way for a $2 million-$2.5 million beautification project.

Harbor Commissioners, Lemus, owner of Renewable Energy Capital LLC, and Harbormaster Tim Petrick denied that they plan to move the parks’ permanent residents out. However, they said they may ask residents to relocate to nearby Redwood Harbor Village RV Park temporarily during the project.

In addition to presenting his plan for redeveloping the harbor to make it attractive to visitors and overnight guests, Lemus’s company spearheaded the construction of a solar project, which came online earlier this year.

Petrick was not available for comment Tuesday.

Harbor District Secretary Wes White acknowledged receipt of Housing Now! California’s letter, but told the Outpost that he wasn’t familiar enough with the details to comment.

According to Contadino, the district has yet to respond to the organization in response to its letter.

According to Housing Now! California, under the state Relocation Assistance Act the Crescent City Harbor District should have disclosed the full extent of any plans to displace residents when it began negotiating with Lemus. They also noted that the RAA applies to a public and a private entity acting on behalf of a public agency.

“It is not a defense to claim that displacement of residents will occur at some distant time in the future,” the letter states. “Disclosure of displacement plans must occur promptly at the planning stage as soon as it becomes cognizable that displacement will occur.”

Displaced residents must also be compensated and be offered relocation assistance and reimbursement of moving costs and other expenses, according to Housing Now! California’s letter.

Housing Now! also contends the Harbor District violated the California Surplus Land Act, which requires local governments to prioritize development of affordable housing on government-owned properties, Housing Now! states that Lemus’s plans to install cabins at the RV park for tourists’ use reduces the availability of affordable housing in Del Norte County despite Harbor District commissioners’ assertion that no one is in danger of eviction.

To comply withe Surplus Land Act, the Harbor District would need to offer to sell or lease land to other public agencies and to affordable housing developers, according to Housing Now!’s letter.

The organization urged the Harbor District to contact the Department of Housing and Community Development to seek an exemption to the Surplus Land Act.

“In the absence of compliance with the SLA or an opinion letter from HCD that an exemption exists, we will seek provisional injunctive relief, including the application of a Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue (sic) so as to preserve the status quo and prevent the district from continuing its redevelopment planning for Bayside, Redwood and other residential and business areas within the district without first complying with applicable California law,” Housing Now!’s letter states.

Coming to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Housing Now! California mentioned a former oil tank farm operated by the Shell Oil Company that operated within the vicinity of Bayside RV Park.

Any potential redevelopment of the park could potentially disturb contaminated soil, adversely impacting the health of the park’s current residents, according to the organization. They asked the Harbor District to disclose whether Lemus would prepare an environmental impact report in connection with the proposed redevelopment project.

On Tuesday, Contadino told the Outpost that Housing Now! California welcomes improvements to the harbor’s facilities and services. But organization representatives feel development can occur while the district meets the needs of a “diverse set of constituents,” she said.

Contadino also noted that housing in Del Norte County is difficult to find.

“This is something the district must give proper consideration to as a matter of law,” she said. “We will be watching the district’s actions closely as we evaluate whether litigation may become necessary.”

According to a report Lemus presented to the Crescent Harbor District Board of Commissioners on Aug. 7, the district could realize an estimated $486,680 in revenue in 2021 from the lease of Bayside RV Park, Spotty’s Car Wash, the old Englund Marine building and the parking lot behind the building.

According to his report, that would be $345,818 more than in 2020.

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