Planada residents say Merced County isn’t doing enough to help them after devastating flooding

A tense public comment session caused nearly all the Merced County Board of Supervisors to leave the room and call for a recess as sheriff’s deputies ordered all those in attendance to leave the county chambers Tuesday.

The tense exchange came as Planada resident Daniela Ceja-Arceo, 25, spoke during the opening public comment session. Ceja-Arceo, along with several other Planada residents and community advocates, attended the meeting to voice their concerns and frustration with the county over the response to the devastating flooding that occurred in the community in early January.

Planada residents and community advocates gathered for a news conference outside the Merced County Building prior to Tuesday’s board meeting. According to Zaray Ramirez, a policy advocate with the Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability, many residents continue to deal with the aftermath of January flooding which damaged homes throughout the community.

“We’re here today to really demand more action from the county as well as incorporating more action from the state. Folks out here are really wanting to see more funds and support for their community,” Ramirez said.

According to Ramirez, residents feel the current and existing agencies working in the community such as FEMA and Red Cross are not helping everyone as not everyone qualifies to receive those services.

“Time and time again residents as well as ourselves have submitted comments and addressed these concerns to the county, to the state, and no action has been done to implement certain programs and policies that would better support movement in their community,” Ramirez said.

Concerned residents said they would like to see an eviction moratorium in place preventing landlords from serving no-fault evictions, repair programs as many residents are still working to repair their homes and a rent stabilization ordinance to prevent landlords from raising rents after fixes are made.

March 15 move-out from temporary housing

Another topic of concern is the March 15 deadline for many Planada residents to vacate the Felix Torres migrant farmworker housing facility where those displaced from flood-damaged homes have been given temporary shelter. Officials say they’re obligated to prepare the housing for the April 1 start of the migrant season.

Lifelong Planada resident Maria Nava, 37, said she asked several county and state officials for help. Nava said the Planada community is not receiving the help and necessary funds needed.

But of dozens of emails sent to elected officials, Nava said, she received only one response.

“The one response was to put the blame back on our community, on our members that it was our fault that this happened because we needed to do more. That’s not my job. My job is to vote in elected officials to do their job. A job that they are paid a very nice salary to do and they failed us.”

According to Nava, many houses in the community have not been repaired and are not ready for residents to return.

“The lingering day of March 15, which happens to be my birthday, will be the day that I wake up and I tell my daughter grab your things because we are now homeless. Because the officials that I voted to protect me and my children are failing me, my community and all of the children of Planada,” Nava said.

“We are the migrant workers of California and we’re being displaced to bring in other families who are not from here, with no resolution with no options of where do we go from here. Please do not turn your backs on us. Please do not turn a blind eye to my daughter and everybody else’s children who are looking at you for a solution and you are telling us that good enough is what you can do. And it’s not good enough. You need to do better,” Nava said.

Ceja-Arceo, the Planada resident who sparked tensions, opened her address talking about her community’s “homeless.”

“Behind me sits the frightened, the traumatized and the homeless citizens of Planada, California. On Jan. 9, the harsh rains reached their tipping point and overflowed into my town destroying our fire department, clinic, post office and 90 families’ homes. There are 90 homeless families that the United States has failed. There are 90 families that this government has abandoned. Ninety families whose whereabouts our government knows nothing of.”

Supervisors walk out

When her three minutes of allowed speaking time ran out, Ceja-Arceo continued reading her statement; officials turned off the microphone at the public dais and she continued. Supervisor Scott Silveira called for a five-minute recess and four of the five county supervisors left the room. Only Supervisor Rodrigo Espinosa, whose District 1 includes Planada, stayed.

Ceja-Arceo addressed members of the public who were in attendance when Merced County Sheriff’s deputies ordered everyone to clear the room while the chamber was in recess. A few minutes later, the meeting resumed with the board hearing additional public comment on the flooding in Planada during discussion of a local emergency for the flooding caused by the December and January rains.

Antonio Saldana, 68, who has lived in Planada for nearly 50 years, said he wants to know who is responsible as he addressed board members during the meeting saying he is putting his house back together with his own hands. Saldana said that all of the money he and his wife have put into their house is lost.

“Money that I have left, had to break my piggy bank to take care of whatever is needed,” Saldana said.

Mark Hendrickson, director of Community and Economic Development in Merced County, said initial assessments have been completed of homes vacated in the community of Planada. Of the 42 families housed at the Felix Torres Farmworker housing, nearly 30 are anticipated to be able to return to their homes by March 15, according to Hendrickson.

“Our Human Services Agency is working literally around the clock to ensure that the balance of those that have been impacted are going to have access to homes and living arrangements,” Hendrickson told the board.

Over 90% of the properties of those temporarily relocated to the Felix Torres housing are being repaired or have had all necessary repairs completed, according to Hendrickson.

Disputing county’s assessment

Madeline Harris, Merced County Leadership Counsel regional policy manager, disputed Hendrickson’s statements. Harris said people are being told they can return to their homes, but says this direction is based on what she claims is substandard home inspections of homes with visible mold.

“People say that the walls are deteriorating, they’re still very wet. There’s serious public health concerns with people returning to homes that are not habitable and have been wrongfully deemed habitable,” Harris said.

According to Harris, for that reason, people are expecting they will be homeless starting March 16.

When asked for clarification by Supervisor Daron McDaniel, Hendrickson said the county has no jurisdiction over the Felix Torres site which was done in collaboration with the Merced County Housing Authority to provide additional shelter and opportunities in addition to shelters in Merced County primarily at the Merced County Fairgrounds.

Supervisor Espinosa pointed out that the Board of Supervisors appoints the members of the Housing Authority.

“So we can always request that they extend, work with the director to extend, ask the board there to extend their time there,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa said he has walked the streets of Planada and some of the homes remain gutted. “They won’t be able to be out by the 15th of March,” he said.

Painting over mold?

Espinosa also said he has received calls from tenants who claim their landlords have simply painted over mold.

“That’s unsafe. So I think the county should go in there to all the affected areas and make sure it’s not unsafe because sooner or later we’re going to have issues,” Espinosa said.

The Housing Authority is expected to lose control of the Felix Torres site on April 1, when it will revert back to the control of the federal government — a transition reaffirmed during a meeting with the Housing Authority last week, according to District 4 Supervisor Lloyd Pareira Jr. The reason residents must be out of the facility by March 15 is to allow enough time for the units to be prepared for new tenants who will be moving in.

“I don’t want people in our audience to think that they can go to the Housing Authority and complain there, because it’s literally out of their control,” Pareira said. “As of April 1, they no longer can let you be there and they don’t have the authority to let you stay.”

Zaray Ramirez said she feels that this is the type of response community members and advocates have been getting including a lot of back and forth on whose responsibility it is and no action has been done because of it.

“With today, I’m hoping that the county does see the urgency and does see that they have some power that they hold in setting up certain ordinances that they do have the will to kind of implement change for the community,” Ramirez said.

Following the incident which caused Supervisor Silveira to call for a recess, Ceja-Arceo said she was just trying to get the supervisors’ attention and was not trying to attack anyone on the board.

“Even though there’s only three minutes for people to talk, this should be an exception because this is a state of emergency, there’s a disaster, “ Ceja-Arceo said.

During the meeting, supervisors voted unanimously to extend the local emergency.

This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 5:30 AM.