Final notice given to illegal campers on Monte Road
Illegal camping continues to be a problem along Highway 1 near Marina.
The nearly one-mile Lapis Road once housed upwards of 80 recreational vehicles and campers. Then, the county established a safe parking program and began enforcing “no camping” ordinances, forcing a lot of people to nearby Monte Road. Now they have to move again.
On Monday, third and final notices were handed out to people illegally camping on Monte Road by the Dole Plant near Marina.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said camping posed big concerns, mainly illegal dumping and traffic hazards with so many vehicles parked next to the road.
On Monday they reached out to at least nine people, but more call the roadway home.
“My understanding is last week, on Friday, there were about 16 people out and the week prior there were upwards of 40 rigs on this road,” said Cmdr. John Thornburg.
Folks were left looking for another place to park after getting their notices.
“Looks like everyone is going to scatter to try and hide, find other county property or public property we can,” said Tyrrell “Turbo” Morris who lives in an RV.
One option is the county’s safe parking program, outside of Supervisor Jane Parker’s coastal office in Marina.
“We have it, it’s operational, we’ve been giving them the information, encouraging them to contact the program just so they can set up there and camp there, stay there,” Thornburg said.
That parking lot can hold about 15 vehicles. According to the Department of Social Services, five permits have been issued but there have only been two campers consistently parking there overnight. People who live in their RV’s don’t want to sleep at that lot for a number of reasons.
“It’s extremely slanted,” Morris said. “Between my 21′ trailer and my 19′ truck, it’s impossible to turn around in there. We can only stay from 7 pm to 7 am. The cost to move every day is $10 or $7 for some of these RV’s.”
“It’s like asking somebody, ‘Hey why don’t you pack up everything in your house, unpack it again and then do it again,’ so that can be for some of these people it’s disconcerting,” Jay Reed said.
But it’s that or face potential punishment. If campers are still on Monte Road on Tuesday, they could face getting a citation. If they are still there on Wednesday, they could have their vehicles towed.
