County officials ordered a California commune to clean up or face eviction after finding residents living in dirty and dangerous conditions.
The settlement, named ‘Yee Haw’, is located on the Redwood Coast, near the coastal town of Trinidad and is owned by Charles Garth.
His tenants describe him as a man deeply committed to serving his community and willing to share his shelter with those who need it.
But during the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting On September 24, he was accused of being an irresponsible man and a 39-week plan was invoked to force the commune to clean up the property or move on.
Photos shown at the meeting show the community littered with makeshift latrines made of plywood and buckets. Dumped containers with human waste are seen in the middle of illegally built houses.
The Yee Haw Commune, located on the Redwood coast, is in uproar after county officials unveiled a 39-week plan to force the community to clean up the property or face eviction.
Charles Garth owns the property near the coastal town of Trinidad.
Photos shown at the meeting show a community filled with makeshift latrines made of plywood and buckets, dumped containers of human waste, and illegally built houses.
John Ford, the county’s Planning and Building Director, says Garth owes $63,000 in fines, penalties and administrative costs.
Garth has not paid these fines even though a lien was filed against the property, it was claimed.
“There are adults and children living in these structures without minimum safety standards,” Ford said.
For about 40 years, the commune has been home to Humboldt County residents who are down on their economic luck or choose to adopt ways of living off the land.
They began clashing with county officials in May 2001, when the Planning and Building unit served them with abatement notices after finding dangerous code violations on the property.
Yee Haw Commune was labeled as a 12-acre hazardous site that included violations such as lack of fire and carbon dioxide detectors, electrical hazards, wood stoves without chimneys and unsafe structures.
County Planning and Building Director John Ford has a number of concerns about adults and children living in structures “without minimum safety standards.”
Ford alleges Garth owes $63,000 in fines, penalties and administrative costs
The commune has been home to Humboldt County residents who are down on financial luck or dreaming of a life living off the land for about 40 years.
They also observed 14 junk vehicles that some residents occupied in 2021 with barrels of human waste in the trunks.
But Garth and other Yee Haw residents said this recent assessment does not represent the state of the community, since the last inspection was in 2022 and photos shown at the Sept. 24 board meeting were from 2018.
Ford confirmed that his inquisition in the Garth commune is based on complaints from the surrounding community.
One Yee Haw tenant, who has lived there for five years with her family, said she knows that from an outside perspective they seem like a “bunch of dirty hippies,” but that she values her community and the cabin in which she lives.
He said the community is temporarily housing people reeling from homelessness in the area.
They began clashing with county officials in May 2001, when the Planning and Building unit served them with abatement notices after finding dangerous code violations on the property.
1,700 people, or 1% of the population, are homeless in Humboldt County, according to Arcata House Partnership.
Less than half of the tenants who live in the commune pay rent. Those who do pay between $50 and $200 depending on their income.
About 1,700 people, or 1% of the population, are homeless in Humboldt County, according to the Arcata House Association.
Less than half of the tenants who live in the commune pay rent. Those who pay between $50 and $200 depending on their income, SF Gate reported.
Supervisors said at the end of the meeting that an inspection of the property would be conducted to see if tenants’ claims that the violations are inaccurate were substantiated.
They approved the demolition and eviction plan for 39 Planning and Construction houses.
Garth said, “if it makes the government happy, I’ll do it” in response to the county asking him if he would be willing to clean up Yee Haw.