Santa Paula: Transient Gateway to the Santa Clara River

 By Sheryl Hamlin

Led by Richard Owen, a resident of Cornell Drive in Santa Paula, five residents related their stories of the transient invasion into their neighborhood.

Richard Owen, resident of Cornell Drive

These transients are living along the Santa Clara riverbed creating piles of trash and filth. In the map segment below, Cornell Drive is shown in red. Note proximity to the river.

According to Mr. Owen, the transients do “bad things”: jump fences, break in to property and cars and may sell drugs. He said “the barbed wire” was cut by the homeless. The image below was taken on May 9, 2018, two days after the council meeting. The path is clearly well-utilized. The fence has been open for a long time and there is no evidence of barbed wire on the top of the fence. There is a “No Trespassing” sign.

Mr. Owen said they had called police “until they are blue in the face” with no results. Note Chief McLean was in the audience with no comment. Mr. Owen has a gun and is not afraid to be confrontational with the transients. He has padlocked his entire property. He suspects a house in the neighborhood is a source for the drugs which attracts the transients to the neighborhood. “We want something done about this nuisance property”.

Pathway from Cornel to the Santa Clara River

Another neighbor Pete Cervantes, said they leave carts, steal water and leave the water running, causing huge water bills. They leave trash on property. No one feels safe, he said, something has to be done. Ray Ann Casey, another neighbor, said the neighborhood is a pathway to the river bottom and is littered with needles and condoms. Drug deals are made in the cul-de-sac, she said. They go through trash, drop their own feces in the yard, scream nude in the streets and threaten dogs and people. We are all at a loss, she said, they have no way to turn.

The picture below shows a CVS cart conveniently left near the gateway.

CVS Cart on Cornell Drive

Kris Shaeffer said that every single night between 1:00 am and 3:00 am the stolen grocery carts filled with stolen materials are dragged through the streets. Pictures were sent to the Chief of Police, she said, with no response. Linda Castaneda, a local resident, owns the property and is not made to fix the property. Now the Castaneda property is a gateway for 20 to 30 people per day. Endangered species in the riverbed are bothered by dirt bikes and mounds of trash pollute the river. She will give a tour of the problem.

Panoramic view of Castanada property

Phil Sylvester said there has been a significant change during the last year including needles, condoms and blatant drug deals. His 14 year old son has been approached by “under the influence homeless”. They leave gates open and 4H animals get out. These people need help, he said. The residents need help with the break-ins that happen weekly or more. There is a huge safety issue. Very bad things are happening. Frequent patrols would help. They don’t see many officers, he said. This has always been a very nice little area tucked away in the south of the city, he said.

At the end of these unsettling testimonies, the council took a break.

Nuisance Property

It is important to understand that the phrase “nuisance property” carries a legal situation. And according this article from the League of California Cities about such properties, the city has this opltion.

Government Code § 38771; see also California Constitution, Article XI, § 7:“A city has police power authority to declare what activities or uses constitute a nuisance and, in an effort to protect the general welfare, to enact regulations designed to eliminate or reduce the occurrence of a nuisance.”

To watch the testimonies, click here. The Public Testimony is near the start of the meeting.

For more information on author click sherylhamlin dot com

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