News Channel 3 investigates letter demanding ‘mini-split’ A/C removal at Oasis Mobile Home Park
News Channel 3 is following an investigation involving residents at Oasis Mobile Home Park in Thermal.
Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez wants to know why residents received a letter demanding that they remove and replace their mini-split air conditioning units.
Lupita Lua works with the Leadership Counsel to advocate for Oasis Mobile Home residents and shared the letter they received from the property owner on Friday.
"It was frustrating for them, to see that letter saying that they need to remove their AC because not everyone has the access to buy one in such short notice," says Lua.
The letter to residents said that mini-split units, a unit that provides heating and cooling in a specific room, were no longer allowed in the park.
It also alleged that the mini-split units were the cause of the recent electrical outages.
The property owner did however, receive a notice from Riverside County in mid May. That notice says mini-split AC units are not permitted construction and are in violation.
I visited the Oasis Mobile Home Park offices and obtained the original notice issued by the county.
The notice stats there's a $450 fee for anyone that didn't apply for a construction permit to install a mini-splits cooling system.
In a statement to News Channel 3, a spokesperson with Riverside County's Code Enforcement says the following.
The County is not asking residents to remove air conditioning units in extreme heat, which is a greater safety hazard than not having them permitted.
Riverside County's Code Enforcement Department
Supervisor Perez's statement lets residents know they could continue to operate their mini splits.
“When we became aware of this, and temperatures for the weekend and into this week were forecast as being 110, 115, 118 degrees and up, it was necessary to issue a statement to make it clear that the county is not requiring residents of Oasis Mobile Home Park to remove their cooling systems. We got out the correct information to the residents of Oasis Mobile Home Park. Our priority is the health and safety of our constituents and it’s even more critical during this excessive heat that our residents stay safe.”
Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez
The statement form Riverside County's Code Enforcement also adds the following.
Initially, Code Enforcement issued a notice of violation only to the property owner. Code Enforcement is continuing to work with the property owner on the safety issues at Oasis Mobile Home Park.
Riverside County's Code Enforcement Department
The property owner had until June 16 to comply with the notice of violation for construction without permit.
We asked the Leadership Counsel the following, "How does this make your organization feel that someone is speaking on behalf of the County telling them to remove their AC?"
"From our point of view, this is just another retaliation tactic by the park owners to tell them, 'Hey, you're speaking up, you're telling all the agencies, the APA county that this is going on, we have outages. So now you have to deal with this," says Lua.
Advocates adding it's dangerous for residents to be without power or electricity for even a few hours.
The leadership counsel believes the letter was issued by the property owners of the Oasis Mobile Home.
The property owners say they can't comment on the matter because of an ongoing lawsuit.
