Residents are outraged after at least two dozen illegal camper vans parked on their suburban California street poured human feces and urine onto their property, making them sick.
The campsite, located on private property in Sylmar, California, is run by Cruz Godoy – nicknamed ‘Vanlord’ by locals – who rents out RVs to individuals without alternative housing options, earning up to $20,000 a month.
After years of complaints from angry residents urging authorities to intervene, authorities have finally tried to shut down the setup, which lacks the necessary permits and proper facilities to operate legally.
Sylmar’s camp is like others that have sprung up across the Democrat-run state as desperate South American families look for cheaper places to live while working in cities like Los Angeles and Palo Alto.
Maria Macias, whose backyard sympathizes with people living in RVs but decries the unbearable stench emanating from illegal campers that has plagued residents for years, making life ‘unbearable’.
Residents are furious after at least two dozen illegal camper vans parked on their suburban California street spewed human faeces and urine onto their property, making life ‘unbearable’.
Cruz Godoy is pictured returning home from court today
Many of the RV residents, who neighbors say are mainly South American immigrants looking for a better life, are forced to dump their sewage on the streets.
“I don’t have peace, not even in my own home,” she told CBS. ‘My son got sick, we all got sick, because the ambulance came because my son was vomiting in the night.’
Many of the RV residents, who neighbors say are mainly immigrants looking for a better life, are forced to dump their sewage on the streets.
Macias said the RVS has had a disturbing effect on his health and that of his neighbors, as they believe the unsanitary conditions have contributed to recent illnesses.
The use of strong chemicals during morning cleaning efforts to mitigate odors has also raised concerns about potential health risks.
‘It was very stressful,’ Macias tearfully told the New York Post. ‘I just wish someone could help. We are all sick of all the poop everywhere. And then we see them trying to clean in the morning with very strong chemicals to get rid of the smell, but we don’t know what’s in the chemicals.’
Another neighbor, Alberto Caino, originally from Argentina, who has lived across the street from Godoy for more than 20 years, told Newstimesuk.com that his wife went to court this morning with Macias, who filed the complaint.
Kaino said her family feels bad for those living in the RV, as there are many children, some with special needs, but Godoy hasn’t been very friendly with the neighbors since the complaints began.
Neighbors say the campsite is a fire hazard and an eyesore
Neighbor Alberto Caino (pictured), originally from Argentina, who has lived across the street from Godoy for more than 20 years, told Newstimesuk.com that his wife went to court this morning with Macias, who complained
The campsite, located on private property in Sylmar, California, is run by ‘Vanlord’ Cruz Godoy (pictured) who rents out RVs for up to $20k a month without the option of alternative accommodation.
Neighbors say the campsite is a fire hazard and an eyesore, according to CBS.
Amid California’s 100-degree heat wave Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Department officials and city Water and Power officials cut power to the camp.
Curt Cabrera-Miller, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, said the power outage was a safety precaution because of the heat wave.
“With the potential for this heat and sparks, electrical damage, propane tanks and proximity to RVs, we have to avoid any explosions and injuries,” Miller told CBS.
The LA City Attorney’s Office has also now intervened, filing criminal charges against Godoy for non-compliance with building and safety codes, including not having required permits and proper amenities.
According to the New York Post, neighbors last week urged the local city council to take action and included more than 100 signatures to present to officials in San Fernando and Los Angeles.
Amid California’s 100-degree heat wave Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Department officials and city Water and Power officials cut power to the camp.
Neighbors claim their family members have contracted mysterious illnesses from illegal RVs
People renting campers are paying anywhere from $300 to $1,000 a month, with landlords earning up to $20,000 a month. Godoy appeared in court in Los Angeles on Wednesday
After two weeks of silence, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez finally responded to the biohazardous RV campsite.
Rodriguez said in a statement: ‘The city continues to work with great urgency to mitigate the impact for both the individuals living on the family property and neighboring residents.’
‘As previously shared, we are working with all resources at our disposal to address public health and safety concerns and to place RV occupants in emergency shelter,’ he continued.
‘These private property conditions are exploitation of vulnerable people for housing, and I am hopeful that the City Attorney will be successful in representing this case in court tomorrow.’
Godoy is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday.
The move comes in response to a source of chronic pain for local residents and aims to address lack of compliance with regulations.
Miller said Cruz has been cited several times by the LA Department of Building and Safety over the past decade.
The use of strong chemicals during morning cleaning efforts to mitigate odors has raised concerns about potential health risks
Maria Macias, whose backyard empathizes with the many RV dwellers on the cruise but decries the unbearable stench from illegal campers that has plagued residents for years.
Curt Cabrera-Miller, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, said the power had to be turned off as a safety precaution because of the heat and the potential for ‘sparks, electrical damage, proximity to propane tanks and RVs, we have to avoid any explosions and injuries we can’t.
‘As far as I know, the first lawsuit I’ve seen was filed in 2010, and that lawsuit placed a lien on the property in 2016,’ Miller told the Post.
‘Since then there have been 41 breaches – open and closed cases of building and security breaches. It has been an ongoing thing. He fixes one thing, and then something else happens,’ he added.
Neighbors said many of the RV residents are South American immigrants looking for a better life.
There are at least 27 RVs living on the lot and 50 formerly homeless residents, including children living on the lot who will now be displaced.
According to Miller, those renting campers are paying anywhere from $300 to $1,000 a month, with landlords making up to $20,000 a month.
Hector Rivera, who lives nearby, claims Godoy not only rents RVs, but also garages and sheds, according to the Post.
The L.A. City Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Godoy for not complying with building and safety codes, including not having required permits and proper amenities, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez (pictured)
After two weeks of silence, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez finally responded to the biohazardous RV campsite with a statement.
Neighbors last week urged the local city council to take action and included more than 100 signatures to present to San Fernando and Los Angeles officials.
Rivera told the Post, ‘The smell is so bad, the flies… and there are ugly people running around.’ ‘People have been getting sick and we think it could be the smoke (from the house).’
Another neighbor, Carmen Cisneros, who has lived in the area for the past 30 years, said the stench permeates her home and neighborhood, even as her chain-link fence separates her property from Godoy’s.
“Feces and urine go into the street and the smell is incredible,” Cisneros told the Post. ‘Cruz had a shop at Swap Meet, but when it closed during the pandemic, he brought it into his home. Then I started looking at RVs about three years ago.
‘First I saw three people and suddenly both sides (of the property) were filled. I didn’t care at first as long as they were on their side, but then the wind would blow the smell away.’
Others said their family members contracted mysterious illnesses from illegal RVs.
‘My husband has been ill for three years and the doctors can’t figure it out,’ a neighbor told the Post.
The move comes in response to a chronic source of distress for local residents and aims to address lack of compliance with regulations.
‘To the previous owners we called it ‘the big house’. It was fantastic. Then just before covid, it started – the smell. It sucks. Sometimes you see fluid when you drive and you think, ‘Where is it coming from?’
But many sympathized with the families who are stuck without power and being evicted from their homes.
Manny Femat lived in an RV and still visits Godoy, whom he claims is a ‘great guy’, to clean the property.
“There’s a child living there who is disabled,” Femat told The Post. ‘It’s not right! They didn’t have to. If anything happens to that baby… God bless America!’
Femat, who paid Godoy $500 when he rented an RV, said he should be rewarded for helping the homeless.
‘I lived in my car and he gave me a place to stay,’ Femat told the Post. ‘He’s a great person and he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. He is not earning millions. He deserves an award, if anything.’
Palo Alto: A line of RVs are parked near the entrance to Stanford University along El Camino Real, a popular spot for people living in mobile homes in March 2019.
LOS ANGELES: The city’s iconic palm trees and distant mountains form the backdrop to a string of camper vans on a street in the West Rancho Dominguez/Compton area of Los Angeles in March 2019.
Above, a map showing where Palo Alto’s RVs were lined up in 2019 along El Camino Real near the entrance to Stanford University
Similar communities have formed in the United States from New England to California where people have chosen a nomadic lifestyle amid a national crisis of livelihood.
Rising costs across all sectors have caused pain for Americans living in every state, especially in rural areas, over the past 12 months.
Rental prices have increased by eight percent compared to the same period last year.
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