VISTA — The city of Vista’s fair housing provider, Center for Social Advocacy San Diego County, has accused Green Oak Ranch of illegally evicting tenants from an on-site RV park, prompting ranch leadership to push back against the allegations.
Residents of the park, operated by the nonprofit Green Oak Ranch Ministries (a separate entity from the larger Green Oak Ranch), received notices on Sept. 30 informing them they needed to vacate the park within 60 days to make way for homelessness nonprofit Solutions for Change, which is starting a 10-year lease of a 110-acre portion of the ranch in 2025.
According to the city, approximately 32 households lived at the park when the notices were issued. The notices also stated that residents who failed to give up possession of their property could face legal action.
Vista housing officials and San Diego Rescue Mission have been working since October to connect park tenants to new housing and other resources, and the Vista City Council expressed concerns about the situation in November.
On Nov. 28, law firm Brancart & Brancart and CSA San Diego County sent a letter to Green Oak Ranch President Dorinda de Jong and Green Oak Ranch Ministries, stating that none of the termination notices followed the requirements of the Tenant Protection Act and were, therefore, void.
The letter says the ranch did not notify tenants of their right to relocation assistance (equal to one month of rent) or a rent waiver as required for no-fault evictions, nor did they provide this assistance within the stipulated 15-day period of issuing the notices.
CSA’s letter outlined a “mitigation plan” ordering the ranch to rescind the unlawful termination notices and provide relocation benefits equal to three times the last month’s rent to each of the tenants who have already vacated the park.
“Failure to timely comply with the above-listed Mitigation Plan may be evidence that GOR and GORM acted ‘willfully or with oppression, fraud, or malice,’ triggering their liability for ‘punitive damages,’ including statutory penalties ‘up to three times the actual damages,’” the CSA states in the letter.
CSA added that any reissued termination notices must follow the Tenant Protection Act.
Dorinda de Jong did not respond to requests for comment. Hannah Gailey, director of Green Oak Ranch Ministries, said religious organizations are exempt from the Tenant Protection Act, making their evictions lawful.
“Green Oak Ranch Ministries is a 501c3 nonprofit and has the legal designation of a religious organization, therefore [Senate Bill] 567 does not apply, and our evictions are, in fact, legal,” Gailey said.
The updated Tenant Protection Act under SB 567 states that the protections do not apply to housing accommodations in a nonprofit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed residential care facility for the elderly, or adult residential facility.
Since the notices were issued, city personnel have also visited the park to connect tenants with housing and other assistance programs, successfully relocating several tenants. As of last month, the city said most households had found new accommodations.
City spokesperson Fred Tracey said the city referred the eviction notices to CSA San Diego County to better help RV tenants understand their rights.
“Since this letter was issued, the remaining tenants in the RV park have retained their own personal legal counsel. As this matter remains a landlord-tenant issue between the tenants, Green Oak Ranch, and Green Oak Ranch Ministries, the City of Vista refers all future inquiries to these parties and/or their attorneys,” Tracey said.
Solutions for Change plans to use the land to expand its Solutions Academy, a program for families experiencing homelessness, specifically to provide additional housing and workforce development training.
The Green Oak Ranch board put the parcel up for sale around a year after the passing of the land’s former owner, Arie de Jong, last April. After a competitive bidding process for the land, which included offers from Solutions and the County of San Diego, the nonprofit was awarded a 10-year lease in July, with exclusive rights to purchase the land for $10.5 million.
In preparation for Solutions for Change’s arrival, the Green Oak Ranch board ordered Green Oak Ranch Ministries to vacate all its programs and subtenants from the land. The nonprofit is also relocating its recovery program to another area of the ranch.
As for the popular summer camp and retreat center onsite, a Solutions for Change spokesperson said they are planning to operate these facilities as another source of revenue, but said they do not have a timeline at this point.
Following news reports about the evictions, Solutions for Change issued a statement stating that they had received undue criticism regarding the situation. The nonprofit said that while it may operate an RV park in the future, it is currently not up to code and would require a significant financial investment.
“Solutions for Change has expressed interest in potentially reopening some of the programs currently operated by Green Oak Ranch Ministries, including the RV park, under our management. However, as responsible organizational leaders and program managers it is imperative that any new program meet three key criteria: That it be legally operated, financially viable, and fit programmatically within our existing highly successful model,” the statement said.
Solutions also said Green Oak Ranch Ministries could offer free housing and low rents because they leased the 110-acre property for $1 per year, while Solutions is paying market-rate rent for the lease.
Solutions has also worked to connect residents with housing and other services, including offering participation in its sober-living program. Green Oak Ranch Ministries has also offered some services to tenants.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct information about the fate of the summer camp and retreat center at Green Oak Ranch. Solutions for Change said they intend to operate the camp and retreat center under their lease.
