De Vaul reaches settlement with SLO county

April 24, 2013

devaulOwner of Sunny Acres ranch Dan De Vaul agreed to a legal settlement Tuesday that will allow him to construct a sober living facility for the homeless. [Tribune]

The settlement resolves a lawsuit the rancher filed against San Luis Obispo County in 2009.

De Vaul had been battling code enforcement action against his property since 2001 over the sheltering of homeless and addicted people in facilities, such as sheds, tents and a dairy barn. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Charles Crandall declared Sunny Acres a public nuisance in July 2010, and a court appointed receivership controlled the property until earlier this month.

De Vaul’s settlement with the county will allow him to build a second residence on Sunny Acres to serve as a sober living facility, so long as the rancher maintains the property without any land use, building or health and safety violations.

Crandall still has to sign the settlement for it to take effect.

County counsel Nina Negranti applauded the agreement.

“The county commends the collaborative efforts of the new board members of Sunny Acres and all of those who assisted Mr. De Vaul in remediating the De Vaul property,” Negranti said.

De Vaul’s attorney, John Belsher, said the renovated Sunny Acres will aid “the neediest of our county’s homeless population in a sober, working ranch environment.”

A timeline for the development of the new Sunny Acres residence is yet to be released.

 


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One thing people keep assuming is that Dan Devaul and CAPSLO are in competition for funding. Not true. The grants that CAPSLO use are basically from HUD for housing, or the city of SLO. Dan is not in the city, and his goal is to work with addiction, not housing or even sheltering, which is the grant from the county. Dan will, if he choses, go after different types of grants. Therefore, both entities would be going after different funding, thus not in competition.

BTW: In answer to SLO bird, I would guess that the two volunteers probably don’t read this blog, and only commented because ccn was talking about a subject near and dear to their hearts, and wanted to speak out. Not every one reads ccn. That what them not commenting tells me.


Sorry, omitted a word above. That is what Homer and NuVo not commenting tells me. OK, that was more than a word, but hey.


Getting what you ask for can come with a greater responsibility, my best wishes for Dan and his dream. It will certainly be a worthy receptor for some of that $60 million CAPSLO has been a party to. Swift is the process I’d like to see, so that Dan can too.


Oh, you think Dan is building a child care facility, administering health care, or doing weatherization for PG&E? Doing that and more are the ONLY way Dan will be able to touch the $60 mil. Good luck!


Read the above. NOT in competition. Different services, different grants. To go to a drug program, doesn’t have to mean you are homeless. Just a thought.


I remember meeting Dan some years ago when all this started. He really has a passion for helping the addict/alcoholic down deep burning in his soul. I thought he’d be dust when he took on SLO but, he told me with all confidence “they don’t have what it takes to steal my land” and by golly he just showed city hall what it’s all about!


Too bad “NvNo” and “Homer” have not made a positive statement about this development, since they seem to know so much about CAPSLO and the homeless issues, do all that volunteering and involvement, you would think they would be thrilled for more help and hope for those in need. No comments, through, strange!!! What does that say…


This is the Lord’s work. Who else could change these narrow minded selfish people’s minds? God is good!


God Bless all