Posted on Wed, Sep. 01, 2010

Residents of Sunny Acres, preparing to move out this weekend because of a court order, received a reprieve Tuesday when the order was stayed indefinitely.

The stay kicked in when Dan De Vaul appealed an order issued in July by Superior Court Judge Charles S. Crandall to clear residents from his ranch on Los Osos Valley Road just west of the San Luis Obispo city limits.

Crandall ordered the evacuation after the county argued that there are health and safety violations on the property. He gave the rancher until Friday to make sure people living in mobile homes, sheds, tents, RVs, the dairy and a stucco barn were out.

“It is likely to take several months before the appeal is resolved and the preliminary injunction order is once again considered by the Superior Court,” De Vaul’s attorney, John Belsher, told The Tribune.

Belsher said 15 residents had been preparing to leave.

De Vaul’s 72-acre ranch includes a “safe and sober” program known as Sunny Acres that provides 30 clients daily substance abuse support meetings, regular work on the farm and a strict no-drugs policy.

His facilities off Los Osos Valley Road have been the center of his high-profile battle with the county.