VISTA — Tenants of an RV park at Green Oak Ranch in Vista received a new round of eviction notices last month following allegations that ranch owners illegally forced out residents last fall to clear the property for the homelessness nonprofit Solutions for Change.
Solutions for Change was set to begin a 10-year lease on 110 acres of the 140-acre ranch at the start of 2025 after reaching a purchase agreement with the Green Oak Ranch board last year. However, legal issues related to the RV park have delayed this move-in by more than six months.
The RV park has operated at Green Oak for decades under the nonprofit Green Oak Ranch Ministries, a separate entity from the larger ranch, which also ran a men’s residential recovery program and summer camp on the 110-acre parcel.
Over the years, the RV park has been home to Green Oak Ranch Ministries staff, recovery program graduates, low-income residents, and friends of landowner Arie De Jong, who died in 2023. Some residents had lived there for nearly two decades, while others had young children.
In August, after the ranch board reached a land deal with Solutions for Change, they instructed Green Oak Ranch Ministries and all its subtenants to vacate the property. In September, the Ministries issued 60-day eviction notices to the 32 households at the RV park, shocking tenants and garnering legal concerns from residents and city officials.
In late November, fair housing provider CSA San Diego issued a letter to the ranch stating that the eviction notices violated the Tenant Protection Act, as they had failed to notify tenants of their rights to relocation assistance (equal to one month’s rent) or a rent waiver, as required for no-fault evictions.
While the majority of park tenants had left by December, five households retained legal representation to continue fighting their evictions. They are still at the park today.
“They kind of pushed us to where we have to fight,” said Hubert “Reese” Reed Jr., who lives at the park with his wife, Lauren, and two daughters. “I’m just in a very precarious situation right now.”
Legal battle
Green Oak Ranch Ministries filed eviction cases against each of the households in San Diego County Superior Court in February, with the ranch also filing its own eviction case against the Ministries regarding the remaining RV park tenants.
Both sets of cases were dismissed via demurrer in late May due to a lack of cause, which Green Oak Ranch Ministries described as a “technicality.”
However, on June 24, residents were issued new 60-day notices of eviction by Green Oak Ranch President Dorinda De Jong. Green Oak Ranch Ministries also issued its own eviction notices in late May.
Attorney Dan Lickel, who represents the Reeds and the four other remaining RV park households, said that Green Oak Ranch needs to provide residents with financial relocation assistance to enable them to leave. The ranch, he said, failed to consider the practical impact of the evictions on the residents.
“Ultimately, the reality of this situation is that I represent some folks who have been unable to figure out where to move to. They don’t have anywhere to go,” Lickel said. “What they did in terms of how they decided to terminate this RV park — it was not very well thought-out.”
Reed, 62, and his family have lived at the park for nine years in a manufactured home that was deeded to them by the previous owner. He said they have been searching relentlessly in North County and beyond but have been unable to find another park that will take their manufactured home.
In addition, transporting it is extremely difficult and expensive.
The Reed family hopes that the ranch or the Ministries will buy the manufactured home from them so they have the money to make a new start. So far, all of them have refused, Reed said.
Reed also suffered from a stroke two years ago, which has limited his ability to work, and he is afraid that the stress of this situation will cause him to have another stroke.
“I’m not 100% back, where I could just go get a job and make this money and get out of here,” Reed said. “I have never been homeless. That’s a new fear. I’m like, we’ve got to get out of here.”
The remaining tenants have also been left without amenities that were previously provided, including showers and a laundry area that were removed by the ranch after the initial evictions were issued.
There has been some confusion over the legal status of the park due to its unpermitted status, and it is unclear exactly when it was established. Regardless, Lickel said, they are rent-paying tenants who are subject to protections.
In the meantime, the ranch has not allowed Solutions for Change to move onto the property until all former tenants have vacated the site. Solutions for Change plans to utilize the land to expand its Solutions Academy, a program designed for families experiencing homelessness, with a focus on providing additional housing and workforce development training.
“We have a lease and purchase agreement that gives us exclusive site control of the ranch through 2035. We are praying, patiently waiting, and trusting that the land board will resolve the issues and deliver possession to us as soon as possible,” said Solutions CEO Chris Megison.
Green Oak Ranch Ministries
The changes at the ranch have cost the Ministries a significant portion of its funding, as they will no longer be able to collect revenue from the summer camps operated onsite.
In addition, Green Oak Ranch Ministries Executive Director Hannah Gailey said that the legal battle over the evictions has resulted in “significant financial expense” for her family and the nonprofit.
The status of the RV park was briefly discussed at the Vista City Council’s June 24 meeting, as the council approved $218,540 in city opioid settlement funds to support Green Oak Ranch Ministries’ residential recovery program and provide education about its programs.
During the meeting, Gailey stated that it was not her choice to evict the park’s residents and that the situation has been extremely difficult.
“It was my responsibility to evict 31 households, including staff members, volunteers, graduates of Green Oak Ranch Ministries, my brother-in-law, my immediate family, and all residents of our unofficial RV park,” Gailey said. “I am deeply apologetic for any hardship or inconvenience that may have resulted from the evictions at Green Oak Ranch.”
City leaders said they empathized with Gailey and thanked her for the work her nonprofit has done.
“Tenant issues can be really complex, and they require rigid adherence to the law. Your apology, it really means a lot, especially when the evictions were unexpected and quite alarming to the community,” said Councilmember Katie Melendez.
Staff and programming at Green Oak Ranch Ministries have since moved to another part of the ranch outside of the parcel sold to Solutions for Change. Several of the Ministries staff who lived in the old RV park have since set up another park on the new part of the ranch.
