Skip to main content

Garcia Seeks $30 Million In State Budget To Relocate Oasis Mobile Home Park Residents

June 4, 2021

The state Senate and Assembly budget committees have agreed to include $30 million in their 2021-22 budget proposal to build new housing for residents of the troubled Oasis Mobile Home Park in Thermal. The funds were requested by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella.

The park, located on Torres Martinez tribal land, and home to over 1,000 people, has been cited repeatedly by the EPA for arsenic in its water. Residents also have complained about overflowing trash and lack of maintenance on the aging mobile homes.

Several residents sued the park's owner, Scott Lawson, in January, but he died in the spring. The suit is continuing against the remaining defendants: his daughter, Sabrina Lawson, and two companies.

The $30 million must still be approved by the full legislature by mid-June, and the budget must be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Of the budget request, Garcia said, "This (dollar) figure is an estimate of what it would cost to relocate families and build up a housing complex and ultimately address this Oasis Mobile Home Park crisis for those families." He said that organizations like the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition are positioned to build new housing "within the general vicinity," but did not identify a specific location.

"We also recognize that one of the key components to that happening is the coordination of infrastructure development for purposes of getting water and sewer services for any new development to happen. There is all of that factored into this request," Garcia said.

Juanita Arroyo, who lives at Oasis and is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said residents were told before that the new housing would likely be in Thermal, but not on tribal land, rather on available land under Riverside County jurisdiction.

Upon hearing the $30 million had been included in the budget proposal, Arroyo said Oasis residents are hopeful and happy. "We're feeling like all of the time spent in this struggle is paying off, like our voices are being heard. We are persevering, as this is not over, and we are praying that the governor makes a wise decision that favors everyone at Oasis Mobile Home," she said.

Arroyo added that residents have not received a timeline of when construction would begin if the funds are approved. "We don't have a clear date, but we've been told it'd be something urgent, because of the extreme situation with the water here," she said. "It'd be a short-term project."

A few residents have already moved out of the park with the help of Riverside County and Supervisor V. Manuel Perez as opportunities become available, according to Garcia. He said community partners are also working to relocate families as soon as possible.

"Details for the $30 million have not been confirmed at this point, but there are a few project options that could be ready to move forward rather quickly with this financial support," Garcia said.

Because Oasis is privately owned and located on tribal land, residents have had to navigate a complex web of jurisdictional issues as they have attempted to improve the public health and safety situation at Oasis.

Other local politicians like U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, have sought to improve living conditions at the mobile home park. In April, he called for an investigation into the Bureau of Indian Affairs' handling of the persistent problems at Oasis.

Ruiz said BIA monitors failed to do something about an illegal waste collection business that operated close to Oasis for several years that repeatedly caught fire, spewing smoke and forcing some schools to temporarily close. He also cited issues with the mobile home park's contaminated water system.

Ruiz has not received answers from BIA yet, but a representative from his office said the agency informed the congressman last month that a response was being finalized.

"The circumstances leading up to these incidents and the response of local officials has been unacceptable, and I am gravely concerned about their ability to protect my constituents and the people living on Tribal lands in my district going forward," Ruiz said at the time.

The almost two dozen residents of Oasis that are involved in the lawsuit also referenced their exposure to contaminated drinking water, in addition to issues with sewage and claims that they were charged fraudulent electricity rates.

Regarding these efforts — as well as those from Perez and his team and the local water district — Garcia said he expects them all to continue and move "in parallel" with his request.

"For us, collectively ... what we have before us is an opportunity to have resources from the state of California, which doesn't have direct oversight and jurisdiction over this particular problem on this land. But the people who are affected are our responsibility and we do have an obligation to do something," Garcia said.

Garcia called it "a major feat" to have the $30 million request officially included in both Senate and Assembly budget proposals.

Although Garcia said he does not anticipate any pushback from Newsom, he believes there's potential for a shift in which the $30 million "gets put into a bigger pot" that would address the environmental and housing issues at Oasis along with similar cases across the state.