SLO County sending code enforcement officers to inspect Sunny Acres sober-living ranch
After receiving complaints from neighbors of the Sunny Acres sober-living facility, the County of San Luis Obispo is planning to inspect alleged code violations at the ranch — with or without property owner Dan DeVaul’s permission.
The County Counsel’s Office confirmed Monday it had obtained a civil inspection warrant Friday and code enforcement officers are planning on entering the property Wednesday morning.
According to a letter from the county to DeVaul, people on the property are suspected to be living in unpermitted structures, as well as conducting unpermitted dumping and grading activity near wetlands and Laguna Lake.
The news of renewed code enforcement action comes eight years after DeVaul and the county entered into a stipulated agreement at the end of a lengthy San Luis Obispo Superior Court civil case in 2013 requiring the nonprofit comply with various regulations to continue its operation.
“Unfortunately, the health and safety situation on your property appears to have gotten worse since 2013, not better,” code enforcement supervisor Jill Coomer wrote to DeVaul in a letter May 25. “Because of the significant public health and safety concerns regarding your property, which are just as true today as they were in 2013, the county must take action to remedy the situation, hopefully through your voluntary compliance.”
But DeVaul said Monday he is currently out of town and will not be at the ranch on Wednesday.
“Nobody’s going to try to stop them (from entering the property),” DeVaul said.
DeVaul also said he’s followed to the best of his ability the terms of the legal settlement and invested in consultants to ensure the facility is in compliance with its various projects.
“If I have to readjust what I’m doing, I’m willing to do that,” he added.
Sunny Acres is a 72-acre ranch on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo that houses and provides sober-living services to dozens of low-income clients with certain barriers to success such as homelessness and sexual offender requirements.
People who take advantage of the services pay fees and many perform work on the property.
The ranch, which most recently built an 8,000-square-foot, 14-bedroom, 6-bathroom housing facility in 2015, has had a contentious history with its neighbors, county code enforcement and various state agencies over its operation.
But homeless advocates and even members of SLO County law enforcement say that the nonprofit performs a vital function in the community by treating its highest-risk population, many of whom would otherwise be living in San Luis Creek.
Dumping close to wetlands and Laguna Lake, SLO County says
Neighbors of DeVaul’s property contacted The Tribune in recent months over allegations that workers on the property were filling in environmentally sensitive wetlands.
One neighbor has uploaded drone footage of the alleged activity to YouTube.
In her letter to DeVaul, Coomer wrote that under the terms of the 2013 agreement, DeVaul is prohibited from allowing people to live in unpermitted structures, sheds and RVs, and must keep the property free from land use, building, and health and safety violations.
He is also required to maintain the stucco dairy barn on the property in an agriculture-exempt condition, and is limited from increasing the amount of storage on the property.
Coomer wrote that despite the construction of the sober-living facility building in 2015, Sunny Acres still cannot be certified by the state due to poor water quality. The facility has been unable to obtain the necessary permits from county Environmental Health.
She noted that the county has received additional complaints about storage being trucked onto the property and dirt dumped in excess of the allowable 2,000 cubic yards.
The county’s preliminary investigation revealed that the amount of dumping and grading that has occurred over the past year is “well in excess” of that amount, the letter says.
Other agencies, including the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Army Corp of Engineers, have also contacted the county regarding the alleged dumping.
“While we are all still investigating whether such dumping has encroached into their jurisdictional boundaries, these agencies have expressed their concerns over your dumping activity and its proximity to wetlands and Laguna Lake,” Coomer wrote.
The county says the investigation into the dumping led to the discovery of people living in unpermitted structures, and the amount of storage has significantly increased since 2013.
Coomer wrote that as an initial step, the county seeks to inspect the property, including inside each structure, shed and RV,to assess the immediate health and safety concerns.
In the May 25 letter, she asked to inspect the property on June 17, and wrote that if the county didn’t hear back by June 11, it would apply for a search warrant.
DeVaul’s lawyer calls allegations ‘unfounded speculations’
In a letter to the county in response, Mallory Miller of Atascadero-based Tiger Legal & Consulting wrote June 9 that DeVaul would be out of town June 17 and said he requested a two-week extension so that he may be present during the inspection.
“Once returned to the area, Mr. DeVaul will provide a full response to your letter and discuss the possibility of a consented search,” Miller wrote.
Noting that the county mentioned obtaining a warrant, Miller added that the alleged offenses listed by the county do not rise to the level of justifying a court order.
“While Mr. DeVaul does intend to be cooperative in resolving the county’s concerns, the issues alleged in your letter are unfounded speculations that we do not believe rise to the level of probable cause that would support a search warrant,” Miller wrote.
DeVaul said late Monday that the recent county enforcement is unnecessary; he’s willing to work with officials.
He said he’s been trucking in dirt that’s better for agriculture than the property’s soil and said he hired a biologist and a consultant to ensure he was in compliance related to the nearby wetlands.
“We’re trying to go along with the rules,” DeVaul said. “I’ve not put one spoonful of dirt on the wetlands.”
He said he’s been unable to get potable water to the newer sober-living building due to a hold-up in the permitting process. Residents have been using bottled water on the premises, he said.
He said that, given the population of his residents and the frequent visits from county Behavioral Health, Transitions Mental Health Association, the county Sheriff’s Office, Probation Department and state parole, “there’s nothing out there they don’t know about.”
DeVaul, who now gets around in an electric wheelchair, said he’s currently in Pioneer with his girlfriend dealing with property matters, but said he would agree with meet with code enforcement officers when he returns next week.
While he said doesn’t understand the urgency, he suspects officials think he’ll try to move people off of the property ahead of the inspection.
But he’s not moving anybody out, he said, because they’ll likely end up in the creek.
“If the county wants to throw these people out onto the street, let them (be the ones to) throw them out,” DeVaul said.
This story was originally published June 22, 2021 at 10:51 AM.
