County OKs $15M to help families move out of Oasis Mobile Home Park. But others move in

Riverside County supervisors voted this week to dedicate $15 million to a new program to help people move out of Oasis Mobile Home Park. But residents say new tenants continue to move in, despite the county's pledge to block that.

The money for the Oasis Housing Opportunity Program comes from a $30 million pot of state funding for relocation efforts.

Abbreviated as OHOP, the program aims to provide qualifying residents with funds to move out of the mobile home park in Thermal, which has been repeatedly cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for water safety issues and poses other potential health threats.

On Tuesday, the county's board of supervisors unanimously approved for OHOP the allocation of half of the grand total in state funding OK'd by Governor Gavin Newsom in July 2021 for relocation from Oasis.

But during the board's meeting, several Oasis residents provided public comments, saying they are still in the dark about how the program works and whether all families will ultimately receive aid to move.

"Although we think this is a good step forward, many of us still have questions about the eligibility requirements (and) the timeline for the program ... We know the county already has several waitlists, but we want to know how this will be proceeding and work out," said Denise Alfaro, a resident at the park.

"Our community is organized in calling for meaningful collaboration (with the county) to relocate all of us to safer housing," Alfaro added.

Move-outs and move-ins

In January, the county and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, which owns the land where the mobile home park sits, signed an agreement to allow the county to conduct new enforcement there.

The county said it would set up barriers to prevent more people from moving into Oasis.

Promised measures consist of the "installation of physical k-rails; removal of trailers; demolishment of uninhabitable trailers; and removal, abandonment or disconnection of unauthorized or unlawful utilities, including unpermitted water connections, septic connections (and) electrical connections," according to the agreement.

But on Tuesday, some residents said they continue to see new trailers. County staff suggested people report that when they see it.

In the past, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, whose district includes the Coachella Valley, has acknowledged that the lack of affordable housing options in the area is what's caused more people to move into the mobile home park almost as quickly as people move out, and said the deal with the Torres Martinez tribe was necessary to begin the closure of the park, "due to unresolvable health and safety issues that continue to cause exceptional hardship to residents."

How to qualify

In March, county housing authority Deputy Director Mike Walsh said the main requirement to qualify for OHOP is to have been a resident at Oasis before October 2021. The program application also asks residents about their family size, income levels, work information and what type of housing they're seeking.

At the time, Walsh said the county is "trying to fit a number of different needs within this program," as some residents plan to use the help to pursue homeownership, while others want to move their mobile homes to safer parks. He noted that the amount each family will receive through OHOP could vary.

OHOP packets distributed by the county at an Oasis community meeting in February show that residents can contact county housing department development specialist Elba Castellanos at 760-863-7450 or ELCastellanos@rivco.org for more details.

Walsh said at the Tuesday meeting that residents will receive more information at another community meeting set for May 3.

Yet, in other public comments, residents expressed a lack of communication from officials, adding to confusion about what the county is doing.

"I believe you are failing at being transparent and communicating with the entire community," park resident Maria Diego said in Spanish, addressing the supervisors. "You don't have an efficient way to get information to everyone. Some of us see what you post on Facebook ... but not everybody has access to that."

Perez told Diego her comment was unfair as the county "has always held a lot of meetings" with the Oasis community and would continue to do so.

But since the approval of the $30 million in state funding two years ago, residents have told The Desert Sun they went months without any updates, with meetings having only become more consistent since July 2022. Currently, the county holds meetings with residents about once a month.

The allocation of funds this week marked the third time the board of supervisors has drawn from the state funds available for relocation. Previously, the board approved $7 million to advance development of an affordable housing complex in the town of Oasis in mid-2022 and $279,000 in November to upgrade the Maria y Jose Mobile Home Park, in the same area.

Following the first approvals, park residents expressed frustration that they had not been included in the decision-making process.

Lupita Lua, a policy advocate with the community organization Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, which has closely monitored the relocation process, spoke to the board Tuesday. While acknowledging that the $15 million approved for OHOP will help families relocate, she added: "Oasis Mobile Home Park residents are still living in dire conditions and feel neglected by the county. It is crucial that community residents be included when deciding how to allocate the remaining of the $30 million."

Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley. Reach her at eliana.perez@thedesertsun.com or on Twitter @ElianaPress.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverside County OKs $15 million to help Oasis families move out