DESERT SUN (Palm Springs, California)

April 23, 2009

Duroville owner testifies

By PAUL YOUNG
City News Service

The owner of a Thermal-area mobile home park which the federal government is seeking to shut down over health and safety concerns testified today he received little guidance from authorities about how to address the problems -- until it was ``too late.''

Harvey Duro, founder and, until recently, operator of the Desert Mobile Home Park, said he decided to set up the facility in the late 1990s after witnessing the success of several other mobile home operations at the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is seeking to permanently padlock Duro's 40-acre facility -- better known as ``Duroville'' -- alleging a host of problems, including fire hazards, unsanitary living conditions and poor infrastructure.

A civil trial to resolve the government's claims against Duro got under way two weeks ago and is expected to wrap up on Friday.

The BIA alleges Duro has been running an illegal commercial operation because he never obtained a BIA-approved lease to rent out spaces at the location, where between 2,000 and 5,000 migrant workers and their families reside in largely dilapidated trailers.

Federal officials also allege Duro failed to abide by terms of a 2004 settlement agreement reached with the BIA to stave off further legal action against the park, which Duro was required to clean up, but didn't.

Duro's statements in previous depositions were brought up at the trial today, including a comment the witness made regarding what a BIA official allegedly told him when he notified the agency about his plans to start a park.

Duro said the response was, ``Don't tell us anything, and good luck.''

``I don't think they thought I was serious,'' Duro told U.S. District Court Judge Stephen G. Larson, who inquired as to the validity of the statement. ``I don't think they thought about here or there.''

Attorney Chandra Spencer, representing tenants at Duroville, spent several hours peppering the witness with questions about his interactions with federal officials between 1999 and 2008, particularly regarding what actions they wanted him to take to allay the government's concerns about the health and safety of tenants.

Duro said he could not remember receiving any specific directives from the government before the BIA first sued him in 2003.

Spencer asked the park owner whether the BIA had ever provided a list of the ``applicable standards to use for the operation of a mobile home park'' and whether the agency had provided ``any lists or notices ... about how to bring the park into compliance (with building and fire codes)''?

``I don't recall,'' Duro replied.

In March 2003, the BIA issued a cease-and-desist order, alleging Duroville was being operated in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and without a BIA-approved lease, according to Spencer.

The attorney asked Duro about his efforts to comply with terms of a settlement agreement reached with the government a year later.

The witness said many of the conditions the BIA wanted him to fulfill, such as taking soil samples to determine the impact of the park on the surrounding environment, were too onerous.

``It was too late,'' he said. ``We were too far ahead ... I figured, `I'm this far, might as well keep going.'''

Duro said it was his understanding the park had to be operated in compliance with Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations, though he admitted never actually looking at it.

Larson removed Duro from an executive capacity at the park last December, denying him further access to his share of tenants' rental payments, which amounted to roughly $7,000 a month.

Duro has since said he would like to close the park and explore alternate uses.

The nonprofit Duroville Renaissance Corp., set up specifically to address problems at the park, took over management there in July, after Duro failed to meet terms of a court order requiring him to obtain engineering studies, establish a business plan and make modifications.

The order was issued last April, when Larson denied a U.S. Attorney's Office request for a permanent injunction to halt operations at Duroville, which the judge ruled was salvageable.

DRC attorney and current Duroville manager Tom Flynn testified this week that the park remains plagued with structural flaws, including a patchwork electrical system, too few fire hydrants and a water and sewage system located too close together.

Flynn has said lenders are ready to commit the necessary funds to put the place in order, but the park's uncertain future scares away prospective financiers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Weidman submitted figures Tuesday indicating more than $3 million would be needed for a number of modifications.

Jim Fletcher, superintendent of the BIA's Southern California Region, testified last week that despite recent improvements at Duroville, the park remained rife with environmental hazards and needed to be closed in 90 days.

When asked why Duroville was the focus of so much attention -- and not three other mobile home facilities on the Indian reservation -- Fletcher said Duroville was in far worse shape.