Our View: Today’s editorial appears on the front page because
the Dispatch editorial board believes the egregious nature of the
ongoing raw sewage spills and safety issues at the Velladao Mobile
Home Park in south Gilroy deserve special attention.
For almost a week, this community has been aware that residents of the Velladao Mobile Home Park at 6310 Monterey St. are living in conditions that could be fairly described as those of a third-world nation.
In plain view among the dilapidated trailers on south Monterey Road are live 220-volt power lines affixed to power poles with duct tape, human waste on the open ground that has spilled from above-ground sewer pipes, drinking water provided by garden hoses in close proximity to that sewage, and a hardly surprising rat infestation.
Where’s the outrage? More importantly, where’s the action?
City officials have visited the site and are aware of the conditions, but have deferred enforcement of the numerous violations to a state agency. This is nonsense. While officials dither, the residents live in filth. The odor, rodent infestation and ill-feeling children concern the residents most, but raw sewage can be the locus of infectious diseases like cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis, and are of concern to all Gilroyans.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development regulates the park as a “transportation facility,” and has jurisdiction, although the park is within city limits. Friday, a state representative visited the park and issued an immediate clean-up order for the sewage problem.
Although lime has been thrown on the raw sewage, the “immediate” clean-up, complicated by Monday’s rain, had not been completed Tuesday.
The city should take action. The park is located within our boundaries, and the diseases mentioned above are no respecters of boundaries. The city should consult the city attorney with the goal being to seize enforcement of the violations until such time as they are remedied.
The response of park managers Cal West Property Management of San Jose can best be described as lackadaisical. Cal West
obtained a bid for $4,500 to perform the sewage work, but felt the need to “look at a second company to see what our options are.”
The residents of the park are mostly Latino, poor and Spanish speaking. They, of course, are concerned that they will lose their homes. Sections of the State Civil Code may allow for the immediate relocation of residents in situations like these at the landlord’s expense, and in this case, such a relocation is justified.
The County Health Department, urged by Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, should become involved. And California Rural Legal Assistance, an organization that frequently litigates landlord-tenant disputes, should interview these unfortunate people with an eye towards helping them receive any relocation benefits to which they may be entitled.
While it is not our desire to deprive these people of their homes, if the situation cannot be quickly and permanently remedied, it is in the interests of the city and the residents to close the park permanently.
