Effort to relocate Duroville residents moves ahead

Dozens of Mecca families may have new homes by Thanksgiving after a court hearing Wednesday cleared the way for a replacement park to be occupied.

Riverside county supervisor John Benoit’s office told News Channel 3 40 families could soon be moving out of Duroville.

The announcement followed an emergency hearing in a Riverside Federal Court.

The Duroville mobile home park was severely damaged after a rain storm in September flooded homes. That storm struck early September 11 leaving water more than two feet deep in some places.

The dilapidated mobile home park in Thermal has long been a source of concern for county leaders because of its lack of sewers, and other numerous health and safety standard violations.

The park is on the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla reservation.

According to Benoit, a sewer project at the Mountain View Estates, a replacement park funded by the county, should be completed in the next few weeks.

The new park has 40 units. It originally was planned for 181 homes, but a decision by the state to withhold 12 million dollars from the park has stopped its expansion.

Benoit also says some other steps, like being given a certificate of occupancy, and to make sure the units are safe to occupy, could be completed by mid or late November allowing the families to move in.